Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

Zaroth's opponent held a wooden staff with a blue gem in her hand, so most likely, she was going to attack using some kind of ranged magic attacks.

If it were the old him, he would have rushed in, thinking it was the best strategy to reach her as soon as possible.

But now, after his numerous duels with his friends, he knew that people whose class revolves around ranged attacks know they are weak up close and, as such, train to fight with their fists proficiently.

Zaroth still shuddered a little when he remembered how much force was behind Lily's fist.

He, of course, wasn't planning to waste time, though, as he extended his arm and let out a fireball.

Interestingly enough, the woman's staff shone, and she didn't move a muscle.

The next moment, his fireball was nowhere to be seen.

"What?" Zaroth muttered in disbelief. How did his attack disappear? Did the woman possess some way to nullify magical attacks?

He couldn't be sure from just one attack, so he began to rotate the spear before him and let out a violent fire from the back of his throat.

The fire breath collided with the spear, and as its strength and area of effect increased, it flew toward Zaroth's opponent.

The air in their proximity began to heat up, but that was all, as the fire tornado seemed to dissolve into nothingness a meter before reaching the woman.

"So, I was right. She is able to nullify magic to some extent. The question is, how much mana is she using to do such a thing?" he wondered.

He could have kept up the tornado with the hope that his opponent would run out of mana before he did, but it didn't feel like a smart idea to test the limits of his mana core in the middle of the match. So, he was left with one option,

Charge in melee.

Not wasting a second, he dug his foot deep into the ground and exploded toward the woman. Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire

In response, the woman took a step back as she muttered something under her breath, and a large ice pillar began to form behind Zaroth.

'Wait, why is she taking a step back? Is it possible that not every mage is strong in close combat like Lily? Have I overestimated my opponent?' he asked himself as he found himself an arm's length away from reaching the woman.

Without hesitation, he used his spear and pierced her abdomen.

The woman let out a weak cry, coughing up blood, and collapsed to her knees.

The large ice pillar that had begun to form behind Zaroth disappeared before he was even able to sense it.

"And the winner is Zaroth!" the announcer rushed to the center of the arena, declaring the result, while a male doctor appeared out of thin air and began to treat the woman's injuries.

"Just like that?" Zaroth muttered in disbelief.

He had won so easily? He was planning to vent his frustration, but this match was simply pathetic. He didn't even break a sweat before defeating his opponent.

'Did I luck out and get matched against a weak individual? Or have I just become so much stronger?' It was a strange thought.

Looking at the woman lying helplessly on the ground, her blood flowing from her wound, it was as if, for a second, he heard a voice inside his head,@@novelbin@@

'Kill her.'

Zaroth narrowed his eyes for a moment, startled. Did he imagine it, or had something actually spoken in his head?

'Luna, did you hear that?' he asked her.

'Hear what?' she responded.

It seemed Zaroth was probably just mistaken.

These past few days, he had focused solely on training, so it was possible that he was starting to imagine things due to his mind being overwhelmed.

With a sigh, he left the arena, this time not even enjoying the cheers of the spectators. The match was too easy for him to celebrate.

*****

After leaving the arena, Zaroth was suddenly assaulted by a violent headache. Deciding it was better to find a quiet place, he made his way to a park. He arrived at a secluded bench, far from the constant noise of the bustling capital, sat down, clutched his head, and waited for the pain to subside.

It had been a good decision to come to the park, as he could enjoy the fresh air and the soothing shade provided by the trees... or at least, he would have enjoyed those things if it didn't feel like his head was slowly splitting into multiple pieces.

"What is going on with me?" he asked himself in frustration.

His head hurt, and it wasn't because he was suffering from a hangover.

When did it start to hurt? He wondered.

'I think when my gaze fell on the woman that bled,' he thought.

But that didn't make any sense. He had seen so much worse, and he had inflicted much worse on people. Was he feeling guilty now? Or was it something different, something internal?

"Ah, shit, it's getting worse!" he gritted his teeth as he waited for the pain to subside.

But something caught his gaze.

On the back of his right hand, the crimson symbol suddenly appeared.

"What the fuck?" he cursed, hiding his hand with his other one.

What was the reason for the symbol to appear? Wasn't it just a mark to symbolize that he had made a deal with a vampire?

From what he knew, the symbol didn't appear unless he willed it or if his hand was drenched in holy water. But neither of these things had happened.

He had read that book in the library that spoke about vampires in its entirety, and he didn't find anything that mentioned humans who made deals with vampires experiencing pain.

But in the beginning, there was a disclaimer, the book talked about the things humans believed to be true, but it didn't mean they were necessarily true.

Plus, it mostly talked about how to find and deal with sinners who made deals with vampires, not about the sinners themselves and the side effects they were experiencing from making said deal. So, it was quite possible that Zaroth was still missing critical information.

"I will have to ask Midnight, whether she likes it or not. She will have to explain the sudden pain in my head," he muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me, sir,"

Hearing a male voice, Zaroth sighed, lifting his gaze upward until it landed on a man with black hair, a gray suit, a white shirt, and a tie, holding a suitcase.

"You seem to be in a bit of trouble," the man spoke with a smile and a friendly tone.

Truthfully, Zaroth's head hurt too much to bother taking the man seriously. He knew the man was probably trying to use some kind of ploy to sell him something.

Not that if his head wasn't hurting he would have taken the man seriously in the first place. After all, Zaroth had spent a large part of his life broke, so as a result, he rarely bought things he didn't need—especially from shady people like the man in front of him.

"I actually believe I could offer assistance if you want it, so would you like to make a deal with me?"