[Congratulations! The user has reached third-star warrior!]

[Please select from the following qi flow]

1. Warp
2. Six senses
3. Blood Fighter

In front of the system prompt. Cain sighed as he removed his sword from the carcass. Battle has been raging in the northern wall for five days straight and no one knows why. He sweeps his black hair back as he looked coldly at the horizon. His calloused hands gripped the black sword tighter as the roaring of the monsters resounded across the snowing plains. A system prompt appeared once again as his smile widened. His eyes glimmered with excitement

[Quest has started]

[Find Leonard VonAenir to learn his plans regarding the incoming catastrophe in the northern wall. A mysterious yet arrogant man that was chosen by the moon goddess has been wanted by the Swordwin Empire and is currently being hunted by the Black Syndicate. He is currently in the Sekai Kingdom with his allies. Be warned! The target’s animosity towards the user is high. ]

[Rewards: Sword of the Glutton One]

[Additional Rewards: +5 to all stats]

“Kate! Finally, something exciting is gonna happen!” He shouted before staring at Kate who looked at him, completely dumbfounded as a wave of monsters is charging toward Cain.

“Don’t take your eyes off from the monsters, idiot!” she yelled as Cain shrugged. With a wave of his sword, a large black miasma escaped and rushed towards the incoming monsters. Upon inhaling the miasma, the monsters exploded in a bloody fashion. Their blood flies in the air before getting absorbed by Cain. A red smoke circled around his body as he gained a quick burst of speed and strength. Arriving quickly in front of the snow wolves with a terrifying smile, he ripped and tore his way as carcasses lay on the bloodied snow.

“Didn’t expect this qi flow to be this strong” he said to himself

[The user has chosen the qi flow (Blood Warrior)]

Meanwhile in the black syndicate’s base. The old man sighed as he looked through the window. Even the combat slave and the three assassins died under those kids. His eyes flashed a murderous intent as he gripped his hands tightly that the palm started bleeding. The smell of blood awaken the shadow under his feet as it started growing and growing until it dwarfed the old man. Its sharp claws and demonic features didn’t bother the old man. It resembled a demon that was covered in shadow, its sharp horns and claws glimmered with sharpness while a drill-like tail started swinging. Its red glowing eyes glared at the place the old man is staring at.

“I’m getting too old. Should i kill those brats myself?” the old man muttered under his breath. As someone knocked on the door, the shadow demon vanished back into the old man’s shadow.

“Come in” the old man sighed once again. He guessed it might be paperwork once again. After his retirement, those bastards in the upper circle have been getting too comfortable in their seats after working together with the Swordwin Empire. The age of assassins like himself assassinating the heroes of different empires and kingdoms is long gone. Right now, the assassinations only entailed wanted people and lower rank nobles. It wasn’t fun anymore, that’s why he retired.

“Master, the alchemist department is asking for their combat slave” a hooded man said while bringing a stack of parchments. The old man massaged his temple before sitting down.

“Tell them that it was killed. It was too weak” the hooded man nodded before putting the parchments on the table.

“Tell us what?” a young man with a scar across his forehead rudely entered the room with a sneer. Donning a lab coat, he pushes his glasses up as he seems to be waiting for an answer.

“Leos…if you want to get another scar. Don’t anger me” the old man glared at the young man. A massive amount of killing intent washes through the room as the hooded man falls to his knees. He is having a hard time breathing as he glances at his master, the killing intent was too potent even for a trained individual like him. Still, Leos looked like he was enjoying a relaxing breeze in the sea. It didn’t even graze him.

“Relax, William. You’re gonna lose all your hair at this rate” Leos chuckled

“You disgust me.” William spat

“Haha, you’re quite hilarious.” Leos shrugged with a smile before looking at a miniature clock, hanging on his belt. “Well, I’m quite busy, unlike someone. I would like to continue to keep this ‘lovely’ conversation but I have more important ‘things’ to do” he smiled while licking his lips. A sense of disgust pervaded the hooded man.

Leos the mad alchemist. A hundred-year-old man that is obsessed with living forever and creating a perfect human. He has experimented on children, men, women, and monsters, and even tried his hands on a giant but failed to get a sample. According to rumors, the only reason he looks youthful is by worshiping a chaotic god. As long as he inflicts excess pain on others, he would be healed and rejuvenated. The massive scar on his forehead is the only imperfection his body has.

“Now, where is my combat slave?”

“It’s dead, didn’t you hear me? It was far too weak for my purposes”

“Who killed it?’

“Why should i tell you that?” the old man crossed his arms as Leos’s eye fidgets.

“As the head of the alchemist department. It is my responsibility to know what my subjects are getting into and what happens to them” Leos calmly replied as the old man stared at him.

“It’s the wanted successor of the silver moon, the chosen one of the moon goddess. Leonard VonAenir. Together with CatalinnaIgnis, the daughter of the ice monarch. The traitor 27, code-named Luke, and a woman by the name of Vania Orchid”

“Interesting…did the silver moon organization do anything?”

“There are traces of them on some spots. Especially in the Swordwin Empire and during their escape. Other than that, my assassins didn’t see any cultists”

“Do you know where they are?”

“Tsk, why the hell do you keep on asking? I thought your busy” the old man mocked Leos who shrugs

“I just wonder how strong he will become under my guidance. His physique and mental capacity must be amazing to resist the control of the moon goddess” he smiled widely

“Well, it’s fine. That combat slave is only a failed experiment in the first place. Just tell me where Leonard is then I’ll forget about this ever happened” he added

“I can’t. The tracker that is inserted on number 27 was destroyed. I have no idea where they are.” the old man massaged his temple once again.

“Just keep an eye on them and make sure to tell me if you found them” Leos flashed a friendly smile before staring at the hooded man who is currently trying to stand up as he grabbed him by the elbow and helped him. The expression of the hooded man is covered with fear and anguish as Leos smirked. A triangle mark appeared on the hooded man’s elbow as it merges into his skin and vanishes.

“Well, I must go” he leaves the room before closing the door. The old man got a headache dealing with that revolting monster as he lays his back on the chair. Wondering what to do next, he simply glances at the mountain of work he has to do. Sighing once again, he shakes his head before reaching to the pile of parchment and start working on them.

…..

Meanwhile, inside the inn, Catalinna glared at Lawrence who is calmly sitting on the wooden chair. They might be companions right now but Catalinna tried to kill him before. She is the author of the novel and her knowledge is vastly greater than Lawrence’s. Frankly, he doesn’t trust her because of how secretive she is for the past week. He can’t help but be suspicious of her actions. She seems to be hiding some vital information that can help the group.

“Are you suspecting me of something?” she asked indignantly

“No, but i do find you suspicious”

“You’re always suspicious of someone, i bet you don’t even trust anyone in this group” she snickered

“You’re right” Lawrence replied with a shrug. Catalinna gnashed her teeth as she seems to want to punch Lawrence in the face.

“What knowledge do you want then? Tell me” she crosses her arms

“Every 3-star mage gains a piece of knowledge from an unknown source. Either it helps them or haunts them. It doesn’t matter, it always happens, and no one knows where it comes from. What knowledge did you gain and did you see Ozial?”

“….” Catalinna stared at Lawrence before sighing.

“I gain the knowledge of the soul fire acquisition and I did see Ozial. I didn’t want to tell anyone that since the way i can get the ability to wield soul fire….is by absorbing the souls of many people. A thousand to be exact. Also, Ozial is a dangerous entity that shouldn’t exist in this world. " Catalinna grimly replied.

Soul fire. One of the abilities a demon can have. It requires the sacrifice of a thousand souls to be able to control the dreaded soul fire. It doesn’t deal any damage to the body but it can destroy the soul of anyone it touches. It’s a great weapon against the gods and angels who don’t have any physical manifestations. The fact that Catalinna can acquire this power only means one thing. She has the blood of a demon running in her body. Both Luke and Vania are quite confused by this as it is one of the taboos on the entire continent. Barely anyone knows this even exists.

Additionally, there wasn’t any mention of Catalinna having demon blood or the Ignis Family. Lawrence pondered what to do next. With this information, it would be best if she acquires this ability. It’s too powerful to be ignored. Sacrificing a thousand souls might not be hard if they head to a nearby prison where there are a lot of souls in one place. Plus, there isn’t anyone that is innocent in that place. It isn’t morally wrong in Lawrence’s perspective.

“So what do you plan to do with this information?” Lawrence asked as Catalinna winced before staring at him.

“I don’t have any plans to acquire this ability. My white flame is strong enough” she replied. Lawrence raises his eyebrow in surprise before tapping his hands.

“We can sacrifice a thousand souls if you want. It isn’t hard” Lawrence simply replied as Vania’s jaw dropped while Luke freezes in place before shrugging. Catalinna widened her eyes before clicking her tongue.

“Hah! Big talk. What if i use it against you? What would you do?” she boasted as Lawrence stared at her for a second.

“Then it’s my fault for lowering my guard against you. You do know that we are in a quite precarious situation right? The strongest empire is on our tail while one of the deadliest organizations is hunting us. Additionally, we are on a deadline. What we need is ample strength to face our enemies” Lawrence coldly responded

“If you plan to sacrifice a thousand citizens for power. Then you’re no different from traitors of humanity. I’ll kill you where you sit” Catallina warned as flames started flickering around her. The temperature around the room raises to a notch. Her eyes burned with conviction and determination as Lawrence shakes his head.

“Of course not. There is a nearby prison where we can sacrifice a thousand souls. Don’t worry, i’m not that desperate yet.” he chuckled but Catalinna noticed his words. Not that desperate yet. She grips her fist as she hopes that it never comes to that point.

….

It’s already nighttime as they spent the day stuck inside the room. They didn’t leave and mostly rested. Luckily, Vania was able to pack some jerky as she handed them to everyone. It was a dull day for everyone as no one trained and no one spoke except for some small talks here and there. Their plan right now is to gain a new identity and meet an information broker and a forger. Most of the identity forgers are living in the slums, hiding from the law.

He only has two appearance-changing potions and it would be a pain to get caught just because someone noticed who he is by just his appearance. His red fiery hair and blue eyes are quite a rare combination for someone to have, added by the fact that he practically oozes nobility. If someone saw him, even if they don’t know who he is. They will still be sure that he is a noble.

Walking in the dark streets, Lawrence leads the group in the direction of the slums as Catalinna is directly behind him with Vania beside her. Luke is at the back, twirling the wolf fang’s dagger in his fingers.

“Um, Luke…i notice that you always twirl your dagger. Is that your hobby?” Vania slowly inched toward him as Luke winced

“Ahh…i…maybe..umm” he stuttered before sighing. He gazed at the dagger that he was twirling before starting to reminisce “It’s something i learned during my training in the black syndicate. Usually, the seniors would teach us tricks in handling a dagger. Twirling the dagger is something that they always train for fun. There would be stupid competitions who can twirl the dagger the fastest and the coolest. Most of the assassins under the black syndicate do this to calm their nerves or to remember the times during their training” Luke chuckled as Vania nodded with a gentle smile. He was starting to miss those friends he had in the black syndicate.

The following walk is as silent as they can as everyone saw the dirty environment of the slums where thousands of people live and die. There are no knights or even guards to enforce the law since the people here contribute nothing to the kingdom and are a dead weight in the eyes of nobles. Gangs and thugs control the slum as no one cared about the people’s injustice in this place. The horrid smell pervaded as Vania can’t help but block her nose from smelling the garbage and human waste all around them.

After a minute of exploring, the group found a sign saying ‘Identity Forger inside, create a new identity in minutes!’ The sign can’t be more obvious but the owner didn’t care. As long as they have sufficient strength, they can protect their store from the gangs that stole and kill anyone they liked. Lawrence opened the wooden and dilapidated door to reveal a bar with a muscular man behind the counter, cleaning a bar glass.

“A drink or for a new identity?” the man didn’t waste any time as he calmly glanced at the group.

“Of course, for a new identity” Lawrence replied with a smile.