Finding the corpses was much more difficult than he thought. He was trying to comb a football stadium in pitch darkness with candles for light. The only positive was that he had a good guess where the bodies lay based on the location of the queen’s corpse. He started by slowly circling around her, trying to match the angle from which he saw her when he entered the chamber with the Nostrum team.
Once he found an angle he was confident in, he moved in that general direction, trying to weave his way through dead gray roots.
Tymon had killed Karla exactly where she stood with the team. He killed Leyland somewhere to the right of that. Arcen kept himself low to the ground as he used Radiate sparingly to navigate the chamber in that direction.
One glance over his shoulder, he noticed the trail of lights that he was leaving behind, since Radiate continued for a few minutes at least.
I have to be careful where I put these lights!
From then on, he always put Radiate in some hole or a crevice where light couldn’t leak everywhere and give away his position to anyone that could be watching him. The ambient glow from a Radiate was more than enough to show him features of the terrain.
He smelled the site of battle before he saw it.
Something was burning ahead, something that smelled like wet rags being boiled in a pot. The ground got hotter and hotter as he walked. He came up on a huge gash across the terrain burning several gray roots, tiny dying flames still dancing on orange embers.
That’s definitely from some sort of skill or contract!
He had no idea who it could’ve been. Morgav hadn’t displayed any fire-based contracts. Tymon hadn’t used anything other than those teeth blades. Arcen hid behind a corner and used a Radiate on the burning patch, expecting to see Morgav’s corpse in the middle.
Come on, make my day.
There was no one there—not even a piece of fabric. With the light bouncing off the rocky surfaces, he found the location where they stood before this altercation started.
It was marked by a red patch of gore on the floor about two hundred meters away. A splintered teeth blade shard lay erect about the pile of gore like an antenna.
There it is! found it!
He circled around there, strategically placing Radiate wherever he needed. He didn’t approach right away either. He put three sources of light around the area to confirm that there was nothing and no one nearby.
Karla’s corpse looked like a mashed potato.
Her skull was split and crushed, brain matter spilling out from the back like toothpaste squeezed out of a tube. The rest of her body remained arranged around the bone blade, limbs twisted and hammered to the ground like a swatted insect. Her bones jutted out from the crumpled mess, flesh ripped into unidentifiable chunks held together only with her outfit.
Serves her right!
Arcen couldn’t help but smile. She was the closest to Morgav this whole time. Heart fluttering with glee, he regretted not doing this exact thing as King.
Too bad King was dead set on swallowing everyone back then.
Leaving their brains intact had allowed Morgav to revive them with his contract. Gareth would be alive right now if he stomped the Nostrum team to unidentifiable chunks on the ground floor. Arcen vowed to himself never to make the same mistake with anyone else again.
If he wanted someone dead, the best course of action was to obliterate them without leaving anything behind to revive from.
Karla had been dead for more than half an hour.
All her Aura had accumulated into Gold on the sticky pool of her blood. He caught a glimpse of it, a faint glint under some fabric. He poked around with his foot, his face twisted with disgust.
He found a wad of gold floating in thick blood like the yolk of a runny egg.
He reached down and touched it. Upon touching, Gold ‘flowed’ up his skin, seeking more of his skin. The metallic liquid crawled up his arm, hungry for skin contact. He claimed it all, letting a thin layer coat the back of his hand.
Naturally, he wondered about his numbers.
╭────────────────────╮
?╭─ GOLD ─╮?
╰ 271,385 ╯
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
?╭─ AURA ─╮?
╰ 6,877,776 ╯
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
Her gold had certainly become his. He licked a bit from his forefinger. It dissolved almost immediately, and he felt the energy thunder down his body.
It must be dissolving in saliva.
He slurped it clean off his hand and checked his Aura and Gold again to make sure it worked.
╭────────────────────╮
?╭─ GOLD ─╮?
╰ 0 ╯
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
?╭─ AURA ─╮?
╰ 8,234,701 ╯
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
Damn. Back to eight million just like that.
Killing people seemed like one of the most lucrative ways of raising his numbers. He could easily see murderous psychopaths thriving in these towers.
Like that shark asshole.
Tymon had killed her just because she attacked him. Clearly, he had not cared about her Gold. That man was a lunatic operating on a whole another level Arcen couldn’t fathom.
Finished with her Gold, he wanted to try exactly what he did with the queen. He had to search Karla for whatever she had left.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
REVEAL
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
He used Reveal on her mangled corpse, knowing it would fail just like it did for the queen.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ ACTIVATION FAILURE ╰︶
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ INFORMATION ╰︶
????
TARGET [KARLA J] IS
DECEASED
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶SEARCH ︶╯
This bitch better have something that I can use.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ NAME ╰︶
????
KARLA J
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ MAIN CONTRACTS ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING [2]
??
MIRAGE BLADE [1]
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SUB CONTRACTS ╰︶
????
DECEPTIVE ECHO [1]
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
She had three contracts. She was different from the queen. She didn’t have any traits or domains. He couldn’t tell if she never had any. It was irrelevant anyway. He wanted her contracts, and here they were, in front of his face. Ball lightning sounded interesting.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ ACQUISITION SUCCESS ╰︶
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ INFORMATION ╰︶
????
CONTRACT [BALL LIGHTNING]
IS TRANSFERABLE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONNECTION ╰︶
????
NEGATIVE
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╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ WORTH ╰︶
????
789,000 AURA
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ INITIATE ︶╯
He made sure to read the number again. It didn’t seem too bad lot at a glance. He’d gotten almost twice that value out of Karla’s Gold.
He had seen two trades so far.
The world turned grey as soon as he focused on ‘Initiate’. It froze him right away, as if time itself came to a halt.
Karla’s flesh assembled itself in slow motion. The blades that squashed her went back up, and her blood seeped back into her flesh. She ‘unbroke’ herself off the ground, returning to the exact moment of her death. Time stopped for her right around the time the first bone blade crushed half her skull in—the very moment of her death.
Gold veins burst all around them.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ PRICE ╰︶
????
YOU HAVE A NEGATIVE CONNECTION
WITH TARGET
[+289%]
??
2,990,310 AURA
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ PROCEED ︶╯
╰︶ ABORT ︶╯
This fucking bitch!
Arcen wanted to kill her all over again. This horrid woman was causing trouble for him even in her death. As much as he was afraid of the amount of Aura he had, he needed as much as he could get in order to actually use this contract once he had it.
He focused his eyes on ‘Abort’, wanting to think about this before spending three million on it. He hadn’t even looked at what this was yet. If it was anything like the Worm Pit, he would be wasting all of this Aura on a redundancy.
The grey world faded, Karla collapsed onto a meat salad on the floor, and time started working again.
He’d spent at least two minutes standing over this corpse with no regard for his own safety. He retreated back into the shadows as all the light sources that he placed around him faded. He found a hidden spot under a collapsed root where Karla’s remains would still be close enough.
He used Fabricate Weakness before the time window expired. He didn’t trust this chamber. Nine million was a lot to flaunt in his situation.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯CONTRACT╰︶
????
FABRICATE WEAKNESS
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE︶╯
She’s not going to give me a contract for cheap.
This was highway robbery, but he still needed to get it from her. There was no other option. He knew Leyland wouldn’t be any better. His connection would be even worse than what it was with Karla.
He squinted at Karla’s corpse, focusing on her contracts again.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ MAIN CONTRACTS ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING [2]
??
MIRAGE BLADE [1]
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SUB CONTRACTS ╰︶
????
DECEPTIVE ECHO [1]
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
He focused on the contract he was just going to pay for. Ball Lightning was self-explanatory, but he needed to see the details about it. It would’ve been a disaster if he spent three million on it and it wasn’t something he could use in a situation.
╭ ╰︶?? APOLLYON ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
BALL LIGHTNING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ DUALITY ╰︶
????
LIGHT
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ TYPE ╰︶
????
MAIN
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ RANK ╰︶
????
SECOND
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ USES ╰︶
????
UNLIMITED USE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ DESCRIPTION ╰︶
????
A GYRATING BALL OF
LIGHT THAT FIRES
LIGHTNING BOLTS AT
MULTIPLE TARGETS IN
THE VICINITY FOR A
DURATION OF 72
SECONDS, EXPLODES AT
THE END
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONDITIONS ╰︶
????
SHOULD MAINTAIN LINE
OF SIGHT WITH
TARGET(S)
??
CANNOT STRIKE THROUGH
PHYSICAL BARRIERS
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ COST ╰︶
????
330,500 AURA
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
Almost one hundred and thirty thousand per use.
It didn’t say anything about how often it could be used. There was surely a time interval, just like Radiate. Highly likely longer. This sounded like a powerful contract to kill several things at once. It also didn’t seem like something he could use for self-defense, like a dagger or a knife. This was somewhat similar to Norm’s Scorching Sun. He couldn’t beat the oily girl with it. He could vaguely remember trying it and failing at it.
What about Mirage Blade?
╭ ╰︶?? HERMAYA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
MIRAGE BLADE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ DUALITY ╰︶
????
DECEPTION
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ TYPE ╰︶
????
MAIN
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ RANK ╰︶
????
FIRST
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ USES ╰︶
????
UNLIMITED USE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ DESCRIPTION ╰︶
????
CONJURES AN ILLUSIVE
BLADE FROM THE BONE
OF THE FOREARM. DEALS
INCREASING DAMAGE ON
SUBSEQUENT STRIKES ON
SENTIENT TARGETS AS
THEIR FEAR OF THE
BLADE INCREASES.
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONDITIONS ╰︶
????
MAXIMUM RANGE IS FIVE
METERS
??
BLADE VANISHES IF
DETECTED WITH
[REVEAL]
??
BLADE DISSIPATES IF
NOT USED IN 3 MINUTES
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ COST ╰︶
????
70,000 AURA
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
That seems more useful.
An invisible blade from the forearm. He felt ten times safer even as he read it. It must have been what Karla used to cut Tymon in that little spin she did. Arcen crawled back up to her body, without any lights this time. He went through the same Acquisition thing again.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ ACQUISITION SUCCESS ╰︶
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ INFORMATION ╰︶
????
CONTRACT [MIRAGE BLADE]
IS TRANSFERABLE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONNECTION ╰︶
????
NEGATIVE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ WORTH ╰︶
????
225,000 AURA
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ INITIATE ︶╯
That’s not as bad as before.
He went through ‘Initiate’ with high hopes. He expected the hyena woman to ruin his optimism, but at least it wouldn’t be three million this time.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ PRICE ╰︶
????
YOU HAVE A NEGATIVE
CONNECTION WITH TARGET
[+329%]
??
942,750 AURA
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ PROCEED ︶╯
╰︶ ABORT ︶╯
I really have no words left for this horrid bitch.
It had just thrown an arbitrary three-hundred percent increase out of nowhere. It seemed that percentage wasn’t fixed. It could just as well be a thousand percent, and he’ll have a choice. He reluctantly focused on ‘proceed’ this time. He needed this contract.
He checked his own contracts again, and his Aura amount after the gray world faded. He had a contract and had lost almost a million for it. It was still covered with the gold he plucked from her. That was the only thing that he felt good about.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ MAIN CONTRACTS ╰︶
????
MIRAGE BLADE [1]
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SUBCONTRACTS ╰︶
????
FABRICATE WEAKNESS [1]
??
WORM PIT [2]
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
?╭─ AURA ─╮?
╰ 7,291,951 ╯
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
He went through the same thing again on the third contract. Deceptive Echo was a subcontract worth 37,987, but taking it from Karla cost a ridiculous 127,636. He stomped her severed hand to get the anger out of his system.
Eventually, he returned to the Ball Lightning. It was too valuable to leave. It was a fine last trick to have up his sleeve if things went sideways and he couldn’t defend himself with this blade thing. It cost every bit of that 2,990,310 Aura. He didn’t have a part of her that he wanted to stomp for that.
After taking all of her contracts, he scooped the pieces of her brain off her skull. It was one of the most disgusting things. Tymon’s blade that fell from the top had smashed half her brain against the rock. Her flesh was cold and mushy on his fingers. Holding off the urge to vomit, he tossed all the pieces of her brain into the deepest hole that he could find.
He didn’t want Morgav to revive her again somehow.
Stay dead fucking forever.
╭────────────────────╮
?╭─ GOLD ─╮?
╰ 0 ╯
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
?╭─ AURA ─╮?
╰ 4,174,005? ╯
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
Somehow, that hurt to read. It hurt way more than looking at his bank account a week after payday when rent, debt and credit settlements were done with. He’d had eight million. He’d lost four of it to a vengeful spirit of a dead asshole.
There was still one more of them around.
Now, the other corpse.
He dreaded the numbers that he would get there, but he was curious. There could be something useful. In any case, he had to get rid of the brain.
He found the pieces of Leyland not too far from where Karla was. He had been split across the stomach. Arcen found his legs first. He kept to shadows and followed the trail of blood.
Did he fly that far?
The trail was far longer than it should’ve been. From what he saw back then, Leyland got whacked twice in quick succession with huge teeth blades. This long blood trail over the rocks didn’t make much sense, as the man should’ve been in at least two pieces.
A faint clattering noise came from the distance.
It sounded like footsteps.
Arcen panicked and tried to do too many things at once, and blanked out on what to do about the points of light he’d created with Radiate. He wanted to snuff them out somehow, but in his panic, he accidentally hit another Radiate.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ SKILL ╰︶
????
RADIATE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
Light washed all over him.
Oh goddamn it!
Now there was no doubt someone saw him. The only source of light in hundred meters was right in front of his face.
The footsteps were hurrying closer.
He ran away and snuck under a root just in time to avoid whoever it was. Once out of view, he used his new contract, Mirage Blade.
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONTRACT ╰︶
????
MIRAGE BLADE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯
It felt like the bones of his forearm fused together.
The bone burst out of his flesh, turning ethereal and ghost-like beyond the skin. The translucent part flattened to a three-feet-long sword blade. It didn’t hurt at all. It felt like growing an extra large nail. The blade scraped on a rock when he jolted his arm. It cut a gash into rock as if it was a piece of meat.
Holy crap that’s sharp!
He touched the blade with his other hand and his fingers just passed through the blade. That was quite a relief. He would’ve easily lost other limbs with a sword this sharp attached to his arm.
The footsteps multiplied as they got closer.
It was four distinct clatters now. Something was glowing as well, casting a faint blue light over the slate rocks just before him. It was slightly stronger than his Radiate.
Arcen saw what it was as the creature trotted over to Karla’s remains.
It looked like a horse made of translucent flesh. He’d already seen one of these in the previous chamber, strangled to death in a mess of red strings.
The horse had a stalk protruding out of its forehead like a unicorn, but with a glowing tip like an anglerfish. The blue light was coming from the end of that stalk. In the complete darkness surrounding them, it looked like a man carrying a lantern.
The creature’s face was stained with blood. It was likely plundering Leyland’s corpse all this time.
Is this that Norghal thing?
He remembered this from his dive sessions as well. Norm Lorraine and the oily girl talked about this creature. They sounded cautious about these things.
He didn’t want to stick around and find out exactly why. Arcen slowly retreated out of the hiding spot, backing out from the other end. He’d gotten everything that he could get out of this chamber. Now it was the time to escape.
“Hello. Can you hear me?”
A rush rippled through him from head to toe. In trying to sneak out, he had backed neatly into one of these hell horses. He could feel its rotten breath over his shoulder as the blue light appeared above him. It had been hiding in the dark, stalking him while he was busy focusing on the one that he saw first.
“Hey, can you help me?”
The horse spoke in Leyland’s voice.
Next chapter on Friday.
