I put the plates on the table and forced myself to take the smallest one. To be honest, to the regular person, they would all be similar in size and proportions, but when it came to food, I had a unique ability called….
I am bullshit, I am just greedy.
“Merci,” I said as I lifted the massive grilled drumstick with a fork before digging into it.
Of course, I did it mannerly. But… the other two weren’t. Kinda makes sense, this guy was a pirate—drug smuggler.
I wasn't particularly concerned about it being poisoned either. That was basically because of my healing powers. However, poison was one of my major weaknesses.
If the poison were potent enough to cause me serious harm, I would be able to detect its taste. Probably.
While we ate, Nack asked Brenda, “So, when do you want to tell me why you faked your death?”
Brenda who was eating the white pasta that tasted like cheese and spaghetti, slowed down upon hearing his question. I paid close attention. I knew her reason, but I wanted to know if she was going to lie or not.
Her fingers drummed on her forearm before she answered, “I didn’t want to be associated with my dad or the sea life, anymore. I started to dislike what it involved and… didn’t want to become like those in the business or him.”
“Wow. He sipped water. “People like me, huh.”
“Yeah.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t want to kill kids or be responsible for smuggling drugs that ruin the minds of children, fathers, and mothers.”
“Killed kids? When has that happened in your father’s fleet?”
She looked at him. “I saw it with my own eyes. It was the children of the king of Nerapan.”
“Eh? No way. It was said some wild monster attacked and killed them. Besides, why would your father just kill kids?”
She sighed. “I don’t want to argue. I told you why I faked my death. Well, the reasoning behind it. If I had just left, my new life wouldn’t have lasted long. You would have stopped me or accidentally exposed me.”
I finished everything on the plate as I listened. I bit on the edges of the bones before putting them on the plate.
Nack took in a deep breath. “Whatever, I am guessing your father was in on your fake death?”
“Yes.”
“I see… Well, what’s in the past is in the past, I guess.”
“Yeah.”
Silence reigned for a while. Because I finally ate something after exerting myself to the extreme, I immediately felt sleepy. That paired with the fact I was in the bathtub. I wanted to sleep so bad…
I asked, “Where can I go to sleep?”
He replied with his eyes closed, “Uh… the third deck, but the room on the left. However, there are where some people sleep already. If you want, I could bring a mattress here for you.”
“I would prefer the latter one, but no need to go for a bed mattress. I already came with a camping cot. It’s in my inventory.”
“Ah… well, you can choose anywhere. Just avoid being in the way where people walk.”
“Got it.” I basically flung myself to the wall. After taking out my camping cot and opening it, I fell down on it face-front.
Now, Slimbrut to keep me safe— Oh right, he was evolving.
I would be forced to have another monster out… But since Slimbrut was basically sleeping, the strain of using two monsters would be far less than normal.
I tapped the floor while trying to not be absorbed into Lala land. With the usual flash, Snaren came out, and it looked around with its four red eyes before curling up around me.
Nack asked, “You normally sleep with your monsters on guard?”
“Yes…” I answered.
“Oh.”
After a couple of seconds, I felt footsteps approaching me, and someone also setting up a camping cot.
“I am joining you,” Brenda said.
I didn’t reply. I was afraid that would make it harder for me to sleep. Then there weren’t any more distractions, and the world became null.
POV: Goldbon.
I spat the blood out of my mouth as I checked my bruised cheek.
Damn it... It's fractured.
I looked around, noticing I was in a luxurious room of gold and red.
There was a ridiculous amount of gold cups lined up between the two tables, which filled the otherwise empty room. And there was that ridiculously strong smell of alcohol... It was burning my nose.
"I am over here," a dreaded voice reached my ears.
I turned towards it: the King was tilting a golden cup, which was lined up with multiple purple, red, and green gemstones.
He took a sip of the liquid in it. Then with a strong exhale he said, "You know, this kind of alcohol is the kind of thing to kill a man. It's kinda shocking that those Punchios consider such things 'treats'."
"What the hell..." Katie?
I turned towards the voice behind me, and saw Katie bruised up and in a dirty white coat.
I grunted and asked, "What the hell is this all for?!"
His gaze was transfixed on the cup, his fingers gently tilting it back and forth as if it held the mysteries of the universe.
"The first time my mother offered me a taste of this," he began, his voice barely more than a whisper, "I found myself teetering on the brink of death. My father believed she had intended to murder me. He took her life that very day."
He paused, his eyes clouding over with sorrow. "In truth, this is nothing more than... poison to a human."
With a sudden, fierce determination, he raised the cup to his lips, draining its contents in one swift gulp. It was beyond obvious that the liquid burned a trail down his throat, searing his insides.
He grimaced, the pain etched deeply into his features.
With a roar that echoed through the silence, he hurled the now-empty cup away. "It really burns the chest like fuck."
"Stop fucking with me!" I shouted.
"Or what? Well, whatever. Vernisha is wanted, dead."
Huh...?
My rage disappeared and was replaced with confusion.
Katie asked, "What the hell are you talking about...?"
"King, don't forget to be respectful when you address me," he said as he leaned against the wall.
"Answer the fucking question!" she screamed as she tried to get up, but fell because of her cuffed ankles.
I didn't understand it. It just didn't make sense to me. Why would Vernisha be wanted? Wasn't her identity protected? She had a mask, didn't she?
The King then spoke as he grumbled. "James, show them."
The door opened, and a tall man dressed in black pants, a white shirt, and a black sleeveless shirt walked in. He pulled out a mark-stone from his sleeveless shirt pocket, and with a swipe of his hand, a video was projected in front of us.
Vernisha killed that 'adventurer', Yanson...
The King folded his arms. "She is lashing out now. It seemed she was hiding her hatred of humans and Vlandos. But her true colors are now showing. I would say, this is also for your safety. She has expressed a desire to kill you all. That child hated you all. After all, she is Darsean cultist."
***
For the last couple of hours, all I did was stare at the jail bars. That video of Vernisha killing Yanson… I didn’t understand why she would do such a thing—other than the video was edited or the one who recorded only recorded the part where she fought back.
“He must have figured out who she was and tried to kill her. That was the only thing that made sense,” I thought to myself.
“Dad,” I turned to look at Katie who was gripping her red hair in stress. “Can’t you get grandpa to get them to stop all this…?”
“No. He wouldn’t care,” I replied.
Katie grunted before slamming her head onto the concrete wall, hurting herself in the process.
Blood trickled down her head, making its way to her chin as she said, “My life… is really gone… And and, Vernisha is going to die! All these damn adventurers going after her? That’s insanity! She just turned fucking 20. She is still basically a kid! She only became a legal adult a day ago!”
I took in a deep breath and said, “Vernisha wouldn’t die.”
Katie screamed at me, “How would you know that?! And please don’t tell me something like, ‘I believe in her.’ ‘Oh, I just know.’ Fucking fuck! That’s why Ferzan told you to not make her become a fucking adventurer!”
Tears ran down her face as she kept muttering under her breath. "Why the hell didn't you make her listen...? Why the hell..."
Katie legs grew weak as she slowly dropped to her knees. Her crying got worse. "Why... didn't you stop her?!"
Yeah… She was right. I should have done a better job. I should have told her no. But that wouldn't have changed anything. She was Vernisha, a stubborn ass.
"You know Vernisha would have simply done what she wanted, anyway. Hopefully… Ferzan will get to her," I said as I moved over to comfort Katie with a hug.
Katie wiped her tears and nodded. “Yeah… Ferzan will make them all die if they even scratch her…”
POV: A vanquisher
“Why…” I fell back, shocked by what I was seeing. I wanted to run away, I wanted to scream.
“Run!” My teammates tried to escape with their lives, but the titan of a black snake with eyes all over its body and tentacles between each pair of eyes made that impossible.
It tore through them like a living bullet, consuming and crushing them in its path. To it, I was as small as a cockroach.
I am a vanquisher! A military vanquisher! A damn level 200 Vanquisher! Yet… here I am…
Then the monster locked all of its eyes on me.
But... That was all it did.
“So the king sent you after me?” A man with red hair and slight blond in the mix asked me.
I stared in disbelief. I tried to say something, but I couldn’t form words.
He clicked his tongue and then looked at the gore and deaths he was responsible for. “Maybe I went overboard with the killing, but you all did try to hurt my friend.”
A Julioes woman hopped off her giant metallic bird which was over 11 meters in the air and landed near him. “So, what’s their deal?”
He was going to kill me. I had to answer.
I swallowed the saliva in my mouth and said, “The evil child, your sister, she— she is wanted, dead by the adventurers guild. And you and your father and sister are registered as Darsean accomplices!”
Ferzan, who had an uninterested expression, switched to one of calm anger.
He crouched low and said, “What?”
“They sent adventurers after her already! The vanquishers like us came after you because you are a bigger threat! So, they figured they had to stop you from getting to her!”
“No… Why is she wanted dead?”
“She killed her party guide—”
Ferzan gripped my face. “I see. So in other words, the king set her up?”
Before I could answer, he squeezed so tight that my skull compressed and deformed!
“Let’s go, Tasha.”
“To your sister?”
“Yep. That fool didn’t listen to me and got herself into shit.”
POV: Vernisha.
“Hm…” I kept waking up every hour I fell asleep. My mind randomly would bring up Goldbon, Katie, and Ferzan. I really hope they are okay for the most part…
I thought it many times, Ferzan will be okay. But… what if something happens? What if they catch him off guard? How could I possibly sleep when all these concerns were floating in my head?
I gave up on trying to actually fall asleep and got up. Snaren got off me, reading my thoughts.
I leaned against the wall and stared into the darkness.
Hm, I kept trying to fall asleep for that long huh… How long has it been, really?
I envisioned the system—the monsters’ evolution progress.
Slimbrut —> Limdark (33 minutes remaining)
Oh, that was a long time.
“How was your sleep?” Nack, who was sitting on the chair, asked.
“Pretty okay. I am guessing you didn’t sleep?”
Even if he was Brenda’s friend, I wasn’t so easy to drop my guard. But since I required his assistance and he was giving it, it would have been stupid to show aggression for no reason.
“I don’t like sleeping at night. Enemies like to attack around that time.”
“Ha… I know that well.”
“Is that so?”
“Yup. So, when do you get sleep?” I asked.
“Usually during the day, but I didn’t really get much today because Adera is alive,” Nack said. Adera again.
“Adera, that’s her nickname, right?” I asked.
“Yup. She once accidentally ate a substance that gives you a high for a couple of days called Adarinlin, so her father started calling her a short version of it for a long time,” he replied.
"Ha..."
“We should be close to Holvious. We are near the islands on its west coast at least,” he said after a yawn.
"Got it. Thanks a lot, by the way."
"No problem. You are Brenda's friend after all."
Since we had nothing to talk about, we just sat there in silence. Not having armor on felt freeing, but it also seemed like I was waiting for an accident to happen. Since I didn’t need to take off my shirt and pants to don armor, I just took it from my inventory and put it on.
“You preparing for a fight?” Nack asked.
“No. I just feel safe with armor on,” I replied.
"Oh. Ha, I can relate to that. When I went on my first mission with her father I--"
Suddenly, he went quiet, and a sound I was familiar with repeated in my mind… that was the sound of flesh being pierced.
I dashed to the side, grabbing the sleeping Brenda in the process. My gaze locked onto Nack's limp neck, a knife protruding grotesquely from his skull.
A man loomed behind him.
The man locked eyes on me. "Hi."
No way... He.. HE!
"Kill him!" I shouted.
Snaren, the giant snake, lunged at him with lightning speed. The man recoiled, narrowly evading the attack before summoning a monstrous gorilla.
The beast was a chilling sight. It was twice the height of the man and had a width of 2 meters, with four muscular arms and a body partially encased in sharp ice. Spider-like appendages protruded from its sides. If that wasn't bad enough, it had four eyes and a massive mouth on its stomach.
The creature seized Snaren by the head.
Oh...
All the hair on my body stood on end and fear gripped my heart.
I messed up!
As I took a step forward, the man smirked. "You shouldn't have done that."
In a display of power, the gorilla monster ripped Snaren into two.
A gruesome shower of blood and innards rained down.
Fuc.... ARGHHHH!
A wave of excruciating pain washed over me, causing my entire body to scream in agony.
I collapsed, holding my entire body in intense pain. I continued screaming as blood poured out of every part of my body: my eyes, nose, ears, and even pores.
I need to... I need to...
It's getting dark...
Struggling to stay conscious, I managed to gasp out a single word, "Heal..."
“To think Yanson lost against you,” the man said as he made his way to me. "I find it hard to believe. He did always have a soft spot for kids since he wanted one... Well, you are 20, so I guess you are no longer a kid."
Brenda stirred, attempting to intervene, but was swiftly incapacitated with a single punch and thrown at Nack's corpse.
He crouched low and grabbed me by my hair, “I am Ben, I was actually supposed to leave the killing to Janet, but it was accidental, so you don’t mind right—”
I sank my teeth deep into his wrist and immediately grabbed him by his head.
His eyes shot wide, and his gorilla monster leaped towards me.
Heal.
I used healing on him then kicked him towards his monster and jumped to the other side. He would be dead soon and so will his monster…
Ben touched his head a couple of times and then stood up. “Ah, that felt better, thanks.”
I stared at him.
“Oh? You don’t know? You see, I had this theory… Nah, now why would I tell you!” he grinned.
I raised both arms to guard against a punch from his monster who moved so fast, I didn't even bother trying to dodge.
This is going to hurt... a lot.
Upon impact, a bone-jarring crunch echoed through the air as my arms buckled under the force, offering little resistance.
The punch continued its destructive path, connecting with my chest. The sound of my ribcage shattering was drowned by the deafening crash as I was hurled through countless reinforced wooden walls, each one splintering upon impact.
Oh... fuck... that hurt like hell... Oh fuck fuck FUCK!
Blood erupted from my mouth as I made the mistake of looking at my 'arms' which were bent in grotesque ways that shouldn't have been possible.
In a pile of debris, I healed my body. My bones fixed their position as the bubbly and gross generation of flesh and bones made the injuries fade away.
With a deep inhale, I stood up.
How the hell was I going to kill him at this rate?!
If I didn’t have Slimbrut also linked to my health, I would have probably died from him killing Snaren.
Concerning my healing effect on him, he most likely thought: 'Health is linked! Healing me while I have a monster out will simply make the monster bear the healing. And since monsters can endure your healing, I am basically immune to it.'
Well then...
I walked around, drawing my sword.
“You think you are immune to the effects of my healing?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he replied. "I am. I know you are scared and all. But, just know, this is for a good cause. Honestly, the moment I found out about your existence years ago, I was waiting to kill you."
He shook his head with his hands on his waist. "I mean, a fucking Darsean cultist living among us? You should have seen my reaction when I heard that. My younger brother thought I was possessed by a ghost that day."
He blinked and I ducked low, evading his monster that came in like a train.
But as soon as I ducked, he swung his war hammer in my direction. "Since then... I wondered, when the hell was I going to get a chance to rip that little witch into two? And was I going to do it before she brought hell to the nation, like her emperor has done to the world multiple times?"
The war hammer hit me directly in my chest, but it didn’t stop there, he swung up and then down, sending me through many decks.
Heal…
I heard his voice again, "Maybe I was born and trained to kill you. I knew I was trained to get rid of threats to the kingdom, but... maybe I existed just for you. Fate buddies? What do you think?"
I grabbed thin air before pushing myself up.
I muttered, "I think... when I kill you, I am going to piss on your grave."
He laughed. "I like the confidence! We are definitely fate buddies. Don't worry, I am going to toy with you a bit before I take that hand of yours."
He then quickly added, "Wait, when I say toy, I don't mean rape... Just brutally torture. I may rip some fingers, toes and the tongue off. Poke out the eyeballs. In short, I got morals."
Oh for the love of go— Wait... hand? Just like... Yanson.
I shouted, "Who are you really? Who do you work for?!"
From above, he looked down. “ Ughhh. Can't say. But does it really matter? Anyone would be more than excited to kill and torture a Darsean cultist, even a mere child. Anyway... It’s almost insane how much and how fast you recover. I wonder, how long can you keep it out until it strains you?”
Damn it...
He wasn't wrong about the child part.
Before it was considered child abuse(mental abuse), to get kids to behave, parents would often tell their children that a Darsean cultist would visit them if they continued to misbehave.
Children are brought up to fear them. And fear breeds hatred.
Well whatever.
Instead of answering him, I ran away. Well, I should have specified, I was making my way to the bathtub.
But that attracted his monster which came charging at me like a wild bull.
It didn’t make sense to send any monsters out just for them to get easily killed! Biryan was in its second evolution, sure, but it was just a common monster with low stats!
He shouted, "Stop running! Okay, I will quickly take your hand and then kill you! You are going to mess with my perfectly scheduled drinking!"
I checked Slimbrut’s evolution progress. It still needed 2 more minutes?!
An icy chill permeated the air, as colossal ice stakes burst forth from the floor, rushing towards me like a hungry lion.
To avoid getting skewered, I kicked the floor open and swung myself down into the hole I created.
There was nothing but huge boxes, barrels, supplies, and tools there. Not much for weapons.
“Oh for Balash's sake!” Ben shouted. “Stop running!”
His monster broke the ice that covered the holes.
He jumped down from the hole along with his monster.
I hid behind the huge barrels.
“You know, I met one of your kind before. I was just chilling on some faraway island, and in the distance, I saw some bastard feasting on a monster. I managed to get the hell out of here, but I always wondered, do you all also fuck monsters?” he made his way towards me, but I remained calm.
Until that happens… I couldn't afford to hurt him.
He continued trying to anger me. "How does that feel though? I did hear that monsters breed with anything. So... do you just go bending down in a monster zone with your ass high while naked, waiting for a monster to hump you?"
I gritted my teeth, holding back my rage.
he was getting closer. "So... what's the difference between a bull monster's dick and a spider monster's? Do you sometimes need to help them find the hole? What happens when they mistake it for the butthole? Hm. You are a cultist, you are okay with that shit, I guess."
I AM GOING TO ENJOY KILLING HIM!
He kicked barrels down and then finally reached the one I was hiding behind. With his war hammer drawn, he swung it down with all his might. But I knew he was going to do that!
I rolled on the ground and immediately made eye contact with his monster who launched towards me. Partially releasing Biryan, I used its long-range to latch onto another beam with its beak, pulling both of us towards it. This allowed me to narrowly escape that damned gorilla.
He attacked again with his war hammer but suddenly contorted his face in various expressions of pain. The effect had finally kicked in.
His monster too began to breathe heavily.
“Why… what’s going on?” he gasped.
Flexing my wrist, I replied, “Whoever told you how my powers work lied to you. They don’t function like healing elixirs, fool.”
He dropped to his knees, gasping for air. “But… with shared health…the…”
“That’s not how it works,” I whispered in his ear. “Did you really think I never tried my healing powers on people with monsters? Did you think the assassins that came after me as a kid were often humans? The only thing your monster did for you was make you think you weren’t slowly dying from the inside because of how much health it has. One touch, that’s all I need. Sure, your monsters may slow down the process by a lot, but that doesn't matter.”
He clutched his chest and coughed up blood. Then I told him, “But, I can reverse the effects.”
"Oh..."
The temperature in the room dropped rapidly, causing me to turn towards his monster which had generated a long ice trident.
That trident... was ridiculously dense!
I dashed behind a box, but the ice trident blasted through the air like a bullet and pierced through the armor and me before pinning me to the wall.
ARGH!
"Ha... I am not going to negotiate with you. Now, how do you reverse the effects, if you tell me, I will spare you," He spat blood out as he made his way towards me.
It hurt too much!
He heaved as he asked once again, "If you don't tell me... then I will make this a lot more painful."
I grunted as I looked at him and his monster which was visibly exhausted; Qi exhaustion... That ice move must have been an all-or-nothing.
He grabbed my chin. "Hey? You can't heal with that thing in you, can you? So... stop wasting time."
I grinned, ignoring the blood running down my teeth. "You know, Yanson was smarter than you. He avoided making contact with me like I was the plague, but you? You are made out of stupidity."
He raised an eyebrow before quickly glancing at my hands, which were essentially lifeless.
He chuckled. "What are you talk---"
My chin glowed. "Boo, did that scare you?"
He jerked his hand back in agony. But in that same moment, he looked instantly rejuvenated---for about three more seconds.
He descended into a fit of bloody coughing.
I then chose to move my hands, grabbing the ice trident which was painfully cold. I mustered all my strength and slowly pulled it out, before collapsing to the ground in agony.
"I... can still..." Ben directed his monster at me.
"No, you already lost." I stood up as my wounds closed, the frostbite effect disappeared, and my blood returned to its normal levels.
A heinous bubbling slime-like entity of darkness made its way through the holes created and dripped down like oil before regrouping and moving before me. It was much larger and more terrifying than before. It weighed something close to 2 tons.
He and his monster turned back.
I pointed at it. "That's Limdark, in your condition right now, it could easily kill you both."
“What… do you want?” he asked, looking at me.
“First… release your monster from your control,” I demanded.
His eyes widened.
I enveloped my finger in the healing aura. “Or do you prefer a quicker death?”
He grunted, and then suddenly the monster made a strange sound and looked around as if it had awoken from a deep dream.
It locked eyes on us, and with a snarl, charged at us.
However, as soon as he jumped towards us, stakes of darkness rose from the ground, impaling its entire body.
It screamed before dropping to the ground, leaking blue blood. Even if it was most definitely stronger than Limdark, because it was so weakened, it was no match for it.
Now now... I can't let you die.
I approached it, and healed its fatal injuries. The damn beast had a ridiculous amount of HP. If I tried to heal it completely, I would end up fainting.
Afterward, I tapped its chest with my master seal. With a flash of darkness, its form broke down and became energy as it was sucked into my seal.
Instead of lowering its level to add stat growth multipliers, I kept it at its current level of 29. Based on how powerful it was, this monster was definitely rare.
As I turned to face Ben, I was met with his harsh stare. He pointed the seal on his knuckles directly at me.
As a beam of light shot forth, I swiftly aimed and thrust my sword toward his throat.
The blade pierced through his throat, pinning him against the wall.
His eyes widened in shock, and he made a futile attempt to remove the sword.
"No..." He tried to talk.
I smiled at him. "How does the sword feel in your throat? You like it or nah?"
He glared at me, but within seconds, his body succumbed to its injuries. His hands fell limply to his sides, lifeless.
[EXP has been awarded to you and your set of monsters]
[Level 71]
Rorsan 18 —> 22(Evolution is available)
Biryan 22 —> 24
Limdark 25 —> 26
I looked at the man’s body then my eyes drifted to his fingers. There was that same white ring like Yanson!
I took the ring from his finger and threw it in my inventory.
I wasn’t sure how, but there had to be people who had information on it.
Now… this guy's comrades must be outside somewhere waiting.
I sent out Rorsan and touched its head. “I have a request, I need you to give your strength to Limdark for me to survive. Will you do that?”
It blinked a couple of times before turning towards Limdark.
With an excited sound, the bubbles burst quickly. Limdark lifted its entire body before covering it, where it began consuming.
Thank you, Rorsan.
Now I was level 71, I could get a new perk.
[STEALTH HUNTER]
-By keeping low, you blend in with your environment, becoming harder to observe
[ENDURE]
- +15% defense & endurance
I chose…
How did this boat get to a cliff. Because it’s definitely hanging on one.