Chapter 1445 First Sign of Trouble
Under the onlookers' gazes, Rex and Linthia walked out of the Void Hub.
Everyone has heard rumors that these two weren't to be trifled with, there were some people who saw them battle in the Black Rift and they easily killed Voidal Pawns as if they were chickens. Even though they were clearly in the High Spirit rank, possessing no Spirit Genesis, they hunted down those Voidal Pawns with ease.
Not to mention, there were circulating rumors that Rex has three high-grade Soul Artifacts.
It wasn't confirmed but given the benefit of the doubt, people steered clear of him.
Recalling that he killed a person who messed with him in public, it was clear that he had a short temper.
Among the onlookers were Blue.
He was sipping on his drink but his eyes were fixed on Rex.
"Just as I expected, he's really talented and ruthless. Lord Garvain would love him to be on his side but it's not that I can force him," He mumbled with a sigh—not knowing what to do. "Maybe I should talk to him again to try my luck?"
As he deliberated on what to do, two people approached him.
One was a bearded man with long hair who was wearing a friendly smile while the other was a woman.
Her face was covered by a mask that only revealed her slanted brown eyes.
"Excuse me," the bearded man greeted politely. "I overheard that you're recruiting for a one-time job and the pay was good. We're wondering if we could be qualified for that job, we really need the money. Both of us are Ascendant Spirits"
Upon hearing this, Blue paused for a second before he instantly brimmed into a smile.
"Of course!" He stood up, patting the bearded man on his back. "Both of you are certainly welcome!"
Reacting also as excitedly, the bearded man nodded repeatedly, "Can we talk more about this? It's too crowded here and we want to know at least a little bit about the job. Don't worry, we know that it's good to not ask too many questions for our own sake"
"Good, good…" Blue laughed. "Come then, let's go to a nearby inn"
Moments later.
"Here we are," Blue stepped inside a small room, it was a rented room in a nearby inn. He noticed a familiar sweet scent inside the room but he dismissed it. "Come sit down and we could talk more comfortably. I'm sure both of you wanted to know how much money you both are going to get from this job. If it's reassuring to know, I'm from the Arcalen House"
Blue used the Arcalen House to ease these two.
After all, it was a well-known house, a house that hosted one of the feudal lords in the area.
Lord Garvain the Manly.
As his title suggested, he always kept his promises as that was what a real man would do.
Most of the people Blue recruited instantly accepted the offer—when they heard Lord Garvain's name being mentioned. His name was that trustworthy, providing the necessary ease for them that their payment would certainly be delivered once the job was done.
However, that wasn't the case with these two.@@novelbin@@
"No need for introduction, we knew who you are…" the bearded man said from behind.
Upon hearing the change in tone, Blue frowned.
He turned around only to find the bearded man covering his body with life energy.
On the other hand, the woman locked the door behind her.
Compared to earlier, the air around these two became violent—riddled with killing intent.
Just from their demeanor alone and the fact that they knew him already, Blue instantly summoned his Soul Artifact—drawing a sword from nothing. But at the exact same time as he did that, his entire body froze suddenly.
No matter how much he willed his body to move, it wouldn't listen.
It was then, the woman lifted her hand—which was holding a white mushroom.
"Silent Spores…" Blue sucked in a cold breath. "It seemed the Narsa House realized their situation"
Seeing the white mushroom alone exposed these two identities, only the Narsa House was in possession of that white mushroom called the Silent Spores. It was a product from the house's lady's Soul Artifact, a deadly mushroom that could exude invisible gas that could latch onto the life energy in the air.
All Spirits' bodies absorbed life energy naturally.
It was how they became stronger over time.
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Because of that, the Silent Spores were deadly as once it was inside the system, the body would be put in a state of paralyze. Prolonged exposure could even kill an Ascendant Spirit. Blue was totally tricked, he let his guard down and ended up in this moment.
"Grrghh…" Grunting lightly, Blue's Soul Artifact dissipated.
He was now completely exposed and under their mercy.
Successfully cornering Blue, the bearded man stepped to the side, making way for the woman.
Standing in front of Blue, the woman lifted her hand again and with a flick of it, a needle appeared.
Its tip was coated with a white substance.
"You're going to answer all of my questions," She muttered softly, her muffled voice seeping through her mask as she put the needle closer to Blue's eyes. "I hope you answer it all truthfully and without resisting because if not… it would only be more painful for you"
"Raargghkk!!"
Several minutes later.
Blue was slumped on the ground, motionless.
On the other hand, the woman nodded her head and turned around—heading for the door.
"Young Mistress, should we take them all out?" the bearded man asked.
Upon hearing this, the woman shook her head, "Too risky. We'll aim for the strongest ones, those who are at the Ascendant Spirit rank. Also… the Wandering Zombie, we'll kill him too. I'm sure that he was contacted but refused the offer but who knows…? He might change his mind"
"Yes, Young Mistress" the bearded man bowed slightly.
Meanwhile, Rex and Linthia headed back to the inn they were staying at.
But then as he was walking, a sudden notification appeared in his vision.
…
<Killing Intent!>
Threat: Medium
Description: An unknown person has bear killing intent towards the user! Find and kill the person!
Time Limit: 3 Days
…
As soon as the killing intent quest popped into his field of vision—Rex paused for a second before he glanced over his shoulder. He hadn't done anything to provoke others but he did garner attention. Due to that, anyone might want to kill him for various reasons.
Jealousy, greed, or perhaps wanting to test themselves—the possibilities are endless.
Nevertheless, the path forward remained the same.
He needed to reach the Ascendant Spirit rank first before the person reached him.
Just to be prepared since the threat section indicated that the person was quite capable of harming him.
"Is there something wrong?" Linthia asked, seeing that Rex made an abrupt stop.
Upon hearing this, Rex's gaze narrowed at the crowd of people—walking along the street, minding their own business, "Nothing is wrong but I think we should hurry back and break through to the next rank. For safety purposes…"
Moments later.
Rex came back to the inn and was greeted by a room full of items that were littered around.
It has increased from this morning"
"Amanir, aren't you going to stop? You're going to get us in trouble at this rate," Rex sighed lightly.
Almost instantly, Amanir snapped his head towards Rex—his expression was that of someone who has only been insulted, "I've stolen a lot of things and got away with it inside royal premises, do you think I'd be caught stealing in this hoodlum?"
"You did stop because you're with me so your skill might be dulled," Rex answered nonchalantly.
He felt like a fool for taking on missions to earn some money to sustain them.
As it turns out, Amanir was damn good at stealing.
So good that the room was getting cramped by the day and the coins he stole in the last three days would make them a well-off commoner in the royal bubble. Now that he was free and was back home, Amanir couldn't help himself.
It was like a drug—he really couldn't stop himself from stealing things.
Rex didn't stop him as that would do nothing but encourage Amanir to be more creative.
In this current moment, arguing with Amani is the last thing he wanted happening.
As Rex was about to sit on the bed and begin breaking through to the Ascendant Rank, he paused at the sight of a map on the table. He scanned the map and realized that it was the map of the east section of the Empire, "Did you steal this?"
"No, I bought it," Amanir shrugged his ears. "I'm cross-checking my memory about the Empire"
"Huh…" Rex nodded repeatedly in acknowledgment. "I thought you were only slacking. Good work"
Disregarding Rex's insult with a snort, Amanir went back to her nap.
Of course, Rex woke him up instantly and forced him to explain what they needed to be prepared for in order to break through to the Ascendant Spirit rank. Amanir might not be an Ascendant Spirit himself but he must've known what to expect.
Soon enough, both Rex and Linthia sat on their own bed in a meditative position.
Once they were ready, the two exchanged a nod before closing their eyes—beginning the breakthrough.
Amanir already explained to them what they needed to do.
Since they were still considered low-rank, the process of ascending to the next rank wasn't complicated.
Instead, it was quite straightforward.
Unlike Awakened which would get stronger by making the affinity and core inside of them stronger, the path the spirits took was way different. In order to reach the Ascendant Spirit rank, Rex would need to channel every single life energy contained inside his Soul Artifacts to create a metaphysical orb called the Soul Brilliance.
He needed to create it first-try as failure in creating this would result in regression.
Rex was already under the threat of regression due to his Imbalanced Spiritual Vein.
It took four White Nightfall Stars to sustain his power every single day.
So the threat of regression is something he took seriously.
But then again, this was a matter of energy control which wasn't a problem at all for someone like Rex.
Once he created the Soul Brilliance, the Great Life Flame, which was sacred for all spirits across the entire Spirit Realm and is also the source of their power, would capture it and give back a beacon of power that would evolve the Soul Artifacts.
Regulating his breaths, Rex closed his eyes and began probing the Soul Artifact mark on his back.
He began with the Red Dawn of Kaiser.
Extracting the large amount of life energy within it, Rex could instantly feel the wrathful and stubborn trait of its life energy. It was fighting back, even slashing at Rex's own mind and it only grew more and more vicious the lesser the life energy within it becomes.
Soon, in the metaphysical world—a dimension only Rex could see, a red orb began to form above him.
Like a blood-red moon, the orb dripped with crimson liquid.
It took mere moments for him to create the Soul Brilliance representing the Red Dawn of Kaiser.
Moving on from there, he began to probe the Aegis of Moon Sentinel mark.
Unlike the Red Dawn of Kaiser, the life energy inside this mark was obedient and soothing to the touch.
It was heavier, way heavier as the life energy inside of it was sticky.
However, it only took several seconds longer than the Red Dawn of Kaiser before a golden orb finally formed. Unlike a radiant sphere of light, it resembled a piece of candy—its golden luster rich and glossy, like honey dripping with savory stickiness.
Lastly, Rex's attention shifted to the Mask of the Banished Eclipse mark.
It was by far the most troublesome one. Unlike the Red Dawn of Kaiser, which retaliated with force, or the heavy Aegis of Moon Sentinel, the life energy within this one was hard to grasp. It felt like grasping for air with a hand, which was impossible.
Rex's eyelids twitched as he contemplated hard to extract its life energy.
Until eventually, he instead condensed the life energy within the mark before extracting it.
An exhale of relief came out of Rex's lips as the life energy from the last mark was extracted, forming a ball of distorted shadow above him. Now, the three Soul Brilliances were formed, ready to be given to the Great Life Flame.
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