Born In Blood 21-30

Chapter 21: Binding Oath

The sounds of stone grinding against stone continued before abruptly stopping. Lloyd took the first step, followed by Liam.

It was a spiral stairway that led downward, illuminated by lit candles, the wax of which didn’t seem to melt.

Eventually, they reached a vast base. The square area was made out of uneven stone, lit by white chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. However, the space wasn’t furnished.

Connected to the base were dark, clean-cut corridors and alleyways that led further in.

“Liam, young man! I knew you would accept.” David spread his arms, greeting the pair as he approached.

He donned his usual white robe, but there seemed to be a veil of happiness over his usually stern face.

Shifting his gaze to Lloyd, David exchanged a quick, blank nod. Before turning back to Liam.

“Let me give you a quick tour.”

With that, the robed noble began leading the two down a hallway, their steps creating acute tapping noises.

The narrow corridor led to a much larger, but empty field. The air was cold, stiffening Liam’s skin.

However, inscriptions and strange writings covered the floor, around a square perimeter to be exact.

From where the trio were standing, there was a small table upon which different tablets rested.

“Here, you’ll learn the ins and outs about the homes of your victims. Also, you’ll be briefed and taught more about assassination itself.”

David picked up a random tablet, placing it on a hollow compartment inside the table.

Suddenly, the inscriptions on the ground lit up.

Tremors echoed throughout the ground, and from the field, pieces of the earth arose to erect walls and build roofs.

After a few minutes, it resembled a large mansion, similar to the White House from earth.

Liam’s jaw was wide open. He simply didn’t have any words to describe the scene.

“I’m sure you don’t regret your decision already. Let’s move on.” David grinned, taking Liam out of his stupor.

Lloyd had no particular expression on his face, simply nodding in silence.

‘Judging by the mansion… won’t my targets be the nobles? No wonder they keep it hidden.’

Liam also confirmed that his job would entail much more difficulty compared to the others, but he expected that much.

Another hallway led to a dungeon-like area. Within the walls were large, dug out holes. Caves, to be precise.

“You’ll be assigned one of these ‘Ora’ caves. They’re much more concentrated compared to those above, roughly twice as much.”

Liam nodded, forcing back a smile that threatened to appear on his face.

“Your peers are few, but much older than you. Don’t be discouraged, though. You’re not too far behind.”

Along with that area, there was a space made for bathing and wearing clothes. There were even lockers to store personal items in.

“Just a few more things to see, then you can start cultivating and training for your missions.”

The next area was a mission room. There were various boards that had leather posters plastered on its surface, explaining the requirements and description of the work.

David didn’t linger in that room for too long, quickly showing the rest of the guild areas.

There was also a map room, exuding antiquity and knowledge. It was filled to the brim with parchments that showed the topography of Ucladd, and beyond.

Liam wanted to study the maps in that room, but David had already begun walking.

After that, the trio reached an armory.

However, the exquisite and expensive looking weapons — except the pills — and elegant armors that it had weren’t for sale.

Within the armory, a plump, middle-aged lady donning a plain robe sat behind a marble counter. Her hair was ivory blonde, and her irises amber.

“This is Ava. She can answer any inquiries you might have. Also, she’s the sole proprietor for techniques and spells you can purchase.”

Ava let out a warm smile as she waved her hand.

Liam solemnly nodded.

“If you think a mission is too difficult for you, you can rent out these items with merit points.

“I reckon that’s enough explaining. You’ve got the gist of how things work. Though, there’s just a Binding Oath left for you to take.”

David’s expression held something sinister, causing Liam to inwardly scowl.

“Binding oath?”

Lloyd sighed, breaking his silence. “It’s just a simple measure for their teachings not to be disclosed to anyone.”

David flicked his wrist, taking out an inscribed stone tablet from his ring.

“Put some ‘Ora’ into it, and so will I. This constitutes a Binding Oath. If you break our agreement, may your core shatter.”

Liam felt a bead of sweat running down his forehead.

“In exchange for our teachings, resources and support, you will never reveal our workings to anyone.”

‘So that’s why Lloyd couldn’t tell me anything.’ Liam thought.

Liam reluctantly inserted his ‘Ora’ into the stone, and the tablet glowed with a yellow light.

David did the same.

A moment later, Liam felt a hidden, silent force loom against his abdomen, marking it.

“Now, with that out of the way, you’re officially a member.”

Chapter 22: First Mission

The tour and Liam’s integration to the guild had concluded.

David had a wide smile on his face. Before he parted ways, he handed Liam a black metal token with the number ‘0’ on it.

“That will store your merits. Be sure not to lose it. Your assassination mentor will be coming back soon, be sure to introduce yourself when you see her.”

In addition to that, he handed Liam a map, and a small box container the size of fist.

“On that map, you’ll learn the layouts and surroundings of Ucladd. Specifically, the wealthy side.” After explaining a few more things, David parted ways.

Liam instantly opened the container, finding a small black ring resting atop a small red pillow.

“A space ring?” Liam’s eyes lit up. He eagerly looked towards Lloyd. “How do I make it work?”

Space rings were very expensive inscribed items. Liam had only seen it on the fingers of richer cultivators. In the first place, they weren’t commonly found.

Lloyd leaned in and chuckled.

“Pour some ‘Ora’ into it. It’ll contain your imprint and only you can use it, unless the imprint is wiped out with strong mental energy.”

Liam did exactly that. The ring glowed with a golden-yellow color, before settling into a dull black.

Liam inspected the ring using his sea of consciousness, feeling a faint connection to the item.

Inside, there was roughly 10 square meters of space.

He took out the Psionic Rune from his clothing’s pocket, and as he willed it, the Rune was sucked into the ring.

A wide grin formed on his face.

“Now, I’m sure you’re itching to cultivate.” Lloyd slapped his student’s back with a laugh. “Good luck, kid.”

Liam scratched the side of his head, before heading straight towards the ‘Ora’ cave. Lloyd had departed himself, too.

However, right as Liam made his way there, he felt a cold and sharp sensation on his neck, as though the tip of a needle had kissed his skin.

“Don’t move.” A woman’s voice demanded behind him, her tone filled with bloodlust and chilling coldness. “Who are you?”

Liam scowled, staring at the glinting needle from the corner of his eye.

‘Damn it! I didn’t hear or sense a single thing from this woman. Wait, could she be the guild mentor?’

“Relax, dumbass! I’m a new member!”

The needle pressing against his neck slightly softened at those words, before detaching from it entirely.

Liam jolted around and created distance, assessing his assailant, his grip on the hilt of his Night Blades.

The lady had short blonde hair tied to a ponytail. Her pale complexion contrasted with her cold brown eyes, which exuded strength. Currently, a dumbfounded expression sat on her face.

She wore a fancier version of the assassin’s attire found at the guild, made out of a gleaming black leather. Her sleeves covered her shoulders, while her arms were covered with a see-through black mesh.

Her slender fingers still held the bloodstained needle.

“You? But you’re just a child? David didn’t tell me anything about a new member.”

Liam grimaced, his grip still on his blade hilts. “The child you just tried to kill.”

The lady scoffed, her eyes scanning Liam’s figure from head to toe.

“Well, you don’t talk your age. Your name?”

Liam eventually sighed.

“Liam.”

The lady let out a sinister grin.

“I’m Ophis. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The sky was overcast and snow began to fall over Ucladd.

It began with just a few snowflakes, but soon developed into a chilling blizzard. After a week of snowfall, everything had turned white and the accompanying cold froze the entire region.

Winter had bore its icy fangs.

Many poor peasants would often perish during this time. Their threadbare rags simply didn’t hold back the deadly frost.

In the coming weeks, many events took place.

Liam had completed two tempering cycles, advancing his body towards the beginnings of the upper-stage of Rank-1. His physical strength increased significantly, but there was still a long road to the next rank.

At that point, his body had gotten used to the excruciating pain and heat. Completing the future cycles didn’t seem difficult anymore.

Liam divided his schedule between cultivating his body and expanding his mental sphere. Nearly all his time had been spent inside the dense ‘Ora’ cave.

At some point, Liam had gained the ability to spread his senses. It was completely subconscious, like stretching a muscle. Doing so, he could vaguely discern his surroundings without his ears or eyes.

During one of his tempering cycles, he asked Lloyd for guidance.

His mentor had a shocked look on his face.

“Can you seriously do that?”

Liam nodded, prompting an incredulous but proud smile from Lloyd.

“What you’re doing is spreading your mental waves throughout your surroundings. Usually, one should reach this level in five to six months from training with the Rune.”

Liam only had two complete months with the Psionic Rune. However, he hadn’t taken a day off in that period.

‘Wait… doesn’t that mean if I continue doing this, I’ll become a Rank-1 Magus in less than a year?’

Cultivators with a Rank-1 sea of consciousness were called Magi, since they had the ability to use spells.

A dangerous glint appeared in Liam’s eyes.

…

Over time, Liam learned more about how the guild system worked.

Missions were divided between ‘main’ and ‘secondary’. Main missions consisted of proper assassinations. They held the most reward, but just as much difficulty.

Small noble houses were oftentimes the victim, but not limited to it. Of course, these noble families had different levels of strength, beginning with small-size, and ending with large-size families.

Even underground businessmen and merchants had a price on their heads.

The higher ranked the assassin was, the more difficult missions they had access to. The riskier targets they could assassinate.

Secondary missions were diverse. Liam could freely hunt, search for special materials and herbs, and defend villages from bandits and magical beasts, etcetera.

Basically, Liam had become an assassin, but had access to all other branches of the guild.

Besides that, there were mandatory training sessions that Liam had to complete before taking his first main mission.

To his surprise, it was much more tortuous than he imagined, consisting of poison training, seclusion in complete darkness, infiltration, starvation, and more.

For the former, the poison would strengthen his body’s immunity, dulling and cleansing the toxin’s effectiveness.

The seclusion in darkness would allow his eyes to adjust to the shadows. Although expanding his mental sphere gave him similar capabilities, this type of training bolstered its speed.

Starvation would hone his focus, since cognitive function, learning, memory, and awareness were all bolstered by fasting.

Not only that, but Ophis was similar to Lloyd in how they both were unrelenting in training.

Soon… it was time for Liam’s first assassination mission.

Chapter 23: Arrogance

A luxurious carriage drawn by a domesticated horse-type magical beast made its way through the streets of Ucladd. The exterior of the vehicle was pure black, made from a mix of gleaming black metal and wood.

Any peasant witnessing the car go by would make a respectful gesture, hectically making way for it.

Eventually, the carriage reached a giant, stern wall, guarded by armored soldiers wielding various weapons.

“Halt!”

The coachman holding the reins stopped at the entrance, approached by a tall guard.

“Family name?” The guard asked rudely, his impatient face scrunched. New n𝙤vel chapters are published on

The coachman took out a golden token and flashed it towards the soldier.

Instantly, the guard regretted his loud voice. He lowered his gaze and spoke with a soft tone.

“My apologies, sir. Please enter.”

With indifference, the coachman slapped the reins on his beast, and the ride resumed, entering the wealthy side.

Inside the posh interior of the carriage, a young man donning a black robe gazed out the window. His short blonde hair was slicked backwards, and his tranquil green eyes were in deep thought.

Three golden earrings that looked like teardrops hung from his right ear. If anyone had seen this young man, they would’ve realized he was from a large-sized noble family.

Liam didn’t dare train the night before the mission, resting his body to reach peak condition.

He had already told Eve he’d be late that night, and had filled his body with as much ‘Ora’ as he could.

The scenery past the open doors wasn’t what Liam expected.

Snow covered topiaries that were tended to and skillfully designed covered the sides of the road.

There was only plain snow in the distance, and straight ahead, was what looked to be a large border wall that had a slight curve.

Eventually, the carriage reached it, allowing Liam to see how the entire border walls contained intricate black lines, among which rested white, and even multi-colored writings.

The border walls sunk downwards to the ground to let the carriage in, and inside was something Liam had expected to see.

It began with small luxury houses and other establishments, slowly growing in size as they went along.

Eventually, huge mansions covered entire plots of lush green land, along with other three story to four story buildings.

Nonetheless, he had enough information to know about what to expect.

The roads were wide enough for three to four more large-sized carriages to traverse through side by side; which there were, most seemingly going in the same direction.

The rhythmic sound of hooves hitting the ground continued for a few more minutes, allowing Liam to truly memorize the landscapes.

Finally, it came to a stop.

Looking out the window, there were numerous other carriages like his, all ‘parked’ on the side of a huge white mansion three stories in height.

In front, by the grand entrance, butlers and other servants tended to the nobles and paid deep respects to them before they entered. Red carpets covered the floor where they walked, and the faint sound of music entered Liam’s ears.

Heaving a deep breath, Liam opened his carriage door like many others, walking out with a charismatic aura.

However, his gait was prideful and arrogant.

‘I can’t think like I usually do. I’m an arrogant noble who hails from a large-sized noble house.’

Snow drizzled from above, and with vigilant steps, Liam approached the butlers who confirmed the identities of each noble.

“Welcome, young master. May I have your name, please?”

Liam scoffed, as though offended by that question.

“William Arnos.”

The pale-faced butler panicked, looking at the clipboard in his hand, before ticking it after a moment.

“P-please enjoy your stay.”

Liam spared no time and made his way through the doors of the mansion, entering and surveying the surroundings.

All around him, lavishly dressed men and women danced, laughed, joked and sang.

Beautiful women wearing dazzling dresses of various colors socialized with each other. Even young maidens slightly older than Liam’s age were no exception.

However, most of them had one golden earring, while few had two.

Butlers and maids carried trays of champagne, casually handing them around.

The ground floor of the mansion was nothing short of a five-star hotel. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling and illuminated every corner of the space.

Musicians performed in the left side corner, their music consisting of piano and violin, as well as other posh instruments meant for only the higher class.

Expensive furniture and other decorations covered the entire area, and towards Liam’s left and right, were long hallways that lead to upper floors. The smell of various perfumes entered his nose, the best he had smelled during his two lives.

When the nobles saw Liam’s earrings, they quickly showed him their deep respects.

‘So, this is what it’s like to be rich… I already know the layout, I’ll need to disable any protective arrays or inscriptions.”

Liam’s nerves were calm and focused as he remembered what he learned.

Array’s, also known as formations, were giant diagrams that produced various effects in a wide range. It was no surprise that noble houses had their own way of security.

‘The number of cultivator’s here are not that many. Despite being so lavish, these nobles are only small-sized families, not to mention this is a weak branch of it, so they didn’t come with many guards or protections.’

Liam’s expression was casual with a tinge of arrogance, but time was ticking, and the stakes were high.

‘I can’t loiter around. I’ll wait for the party address, first.’

Liam inspected his surroundings once more. He quickly realized he was being sized up and down by a group of young girls his age, whispering in each other’s ears.

To deter them, he simply had to put on a disgusted expression paired with a quick scoff.

His plan worked, as they looked utterly offended and shot stares of venom his direction.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

Before long, the sound of a spoon hitting a champagne glass resounded through the space, catching the attention of everyone present.

‘There he is.’

Chapter 24: Target

“Ahem!”

Right ahead, a man with azure eyes and short black hair cleared his throat, standing on top of an elevation a few steps higher than the rest.

His belly was oval shaped and protruded through his dark green robe, while a wide grin rested on his face.

‘There he is…’

Liam’s gaze fixed on the man known as Vamar Belson, his target.

Vamar had secretly been supplying bandits and outlaws with strengthening pills and various weapons, and ordering them to attack rival families.

Behind him, were two burly figures, wearing dark black robes.

‘Two out of seven.’ Liam’s gaze shifted to the robed figures, as he recalled the number of cultivators surrounding the premise.

Most of them were actually stronger than Liam, having a Rank-2 body and Rank-1 core. However, they weren’t Magi, since they weren’t allowed access to a Psionic Rune.

This didn’t mean that they didn’t have enhanced senses. There were other ways to expand the mental sphere, after all.

The nobles had to keep a tight leash on those who worked under them. Give them too much power, and they’ll start to rattle and shake the chain of command.

This fact alone gave Liam the ability to assassinate Vamar, but he had to be cunning and swift in order to accomplish it.

He had no intention of fighting against the two bodyguards, but if it came to it, he had more than a few extra cards up his sleeve.

“Thank you all for attending.” Vamar said proudly, his eyes sweeping the crowd while his voice had a clear charm to it.

“There’s not a lot of chances that the Belson family gets to host a get together among the nobles here in Ucladd.”

Vamar continued to address the crowd for a few more minutes, cracking jokes and singling out a few other noblemen to poke friendly fun at.

Laughter spread across the crowd, but Liam — playing his hot-headed and arrogant noble personality — kept a stoic and unimpressed face.

“I hope the drinks and food are to your liking, ladies and gentlemen. Please, enjoy.”

The noblemen and women clapped as he left the stage, going towards the right hallway, followed by his personal bodyguards.

Liam’s eyes followed Vamar from a distance, before his plan slowly started to flow into motion.

…

From what the blueprints stated, soon, Vamar would be in his office for at least half an hour.

His office was connected to a glass pane window from the outside, which was easy to climb through.

Still, without disabling the arrays, it was impossible for Liam to climb in and out without risking his identity and location being known.

‘I need to get close to the control room. From the layout, it’s just one cultivator and he’s not that strong either. The array only covers the outside of the premise, so I should be fine as long as no one sees me.’

The array Liam was referring to, was a Location Monitoring Array. It allowed for the cultivator controlling it to see all living beings inside the mansion and out.

“You. Where’s the bathroom?” Liam questioned a gentle-faced maid.

The maid made a respectful gesture, instantly leading him into one of the long hallways and showing him the bathroom door.

After Liam entered, the maid left and tended to the other nobles.

He made sure there wasn’t anyone in the bathroom stalls, before quickly entering the bathroom stall and taking off his black robe.

A moment later, he took out a pitch-black clothing and put it on.

It was made from the leather of a Rank-2 Dusk Owl, and came with a hood and cloak that wrapped tightly around his body — covering his hair and face — leaving only his eyes open.

Before Liam exited the stalls, he masked himself with a coating of mental energy, completely hiding his presence from other cultivators and people.

This skill had been the most valuable one he’d learned from Ophis, giving him a sharp edge over unsuspecting opponents.

Liam looked left and right over the hallways — seeing that the coast was clear — he carefully made his way out and went deeper down the hallway.

There wasn’t anyone in sight, and servants weren’t stationed at this part of the mansion. It seemed like all the amenities for guests were on the center of the first floor.

Stairs leading up to the second floor appeared in his sight, and a patrolling guard slowly descended.

Liam quickly hid himself behind the corner of the wall, and the guard took a quick look around, before going up the stairs once again.

As Liam tailed the guard, his footsteps and even breathing made no noise. Another strong skill he had learned in the guild.

The music became slightly muffled as they got up, and the surroundings weren’t as lit as the bottom floor, giving it a dark air.

Suddenly, the guard he was tailing brought out a flickering jade stone from his pocket, seemingly imbuing it with his ‘Ora’.

A voice exited the stone, the words of which Liam couldn’t discern.

‘Walkie-Talkies? They have walkie-talkies?’

The revelation came to him as a shock, but nonetheless, he kept calm.

“Uh… no? Why do you ask?” The guard suddenly said, confused.

The voice coming from the jade stone seemed to be saying something, before the guard’s body visibly tensed up.

Instantly, the guard jolted around, a clad iron blade materializing in his hand as he swung!

However, he saw nothing except a long, silent hallway looking back at him.

Chapter 25: Reminder

Gazing at the empty hallway, the soldier felt utterly embarrassed and humiliated.

“Ugh, you retard! Stop scaring me for no reason! There’s nothing here!” The stern-guard said with anger and relief in his voice, before instantly turning the jade stone off.

Meanwhile, Liam was behind the guard, imitating his movements like a mirror.

Although mental energy was used to hide one’s presence, it largely depended on the mental strength of the cultivator himself. The skill didn’t have any effect on those who were stronger than him in that aspect.

‘I need to move fast. If the one controlling the array is aware of my presence, it won’t be long before he alerts the others.’

The guard finally went back towards the stairs, completing the same old routine.

Another long hallway presented itself to Liam straight ahead.

The corridor was T-shaped, and led to two additional paths left and right.

Liam waited until the guard went downstairs, before his eyes shifted between the hallways. Silently, he started to run towards the right.

…

Inside a small but cozy room, faint smoke floated around a black robed, bug-eyed figure. He sat across a table, which projected a holographic map, filled with numerous green dots that represented people.

A curved, wooden pipe sat on his lips as he huffed and puffed out smoke.

His vigilant brown irises scanned the various dots as they moved around.

When he saw one of the dots vanish within the bathroom, his eyes narrowed to slits.

‘What’s that about?’

Upon a closer inspection, the dot was still visible, only it faded in and out at different locations.

Suddenly, the dot started to walk awfully close to one of the guards, represented by red dots.

The Monitor narrowed his eyes, before quickly grabbing his jade stone and calling the guard.

The jade’s glow flickered on and off for a moment, before it became constant.

“Number 4, do you not see anything unusual?” The Monitor asked with squinted eyes and a bit of caution.

Something wasn’t right.

“Uh… no? Why do you ask?” nove(l)bi(n.)com

The guard’s response confused the Monitor deeply.

Someone was right behind him! How could he not see it?

“Carefully look behind yourself. There’s someone tailing you!” He shouted with panic, spitting out his pipe and hastily taking out his jade stones to alert the other guards.

A momentary pause took over the call, before the guard’s response came through.

“Ugh, you retard! Stop scaring me for no reason! There’s nothing here!”

Thus, the jade turned off, stopping the Monitor in his tracks before he could alert the others.

Suddenly, the green dot popped up awfully close to the window sill of his room to the right, causing his eyes to widen in shock.

A cold, muffled voice rang out before the guard could turn his gaze towards it.

“You move, you die.”

A cold sweat fell down the Monitor’s forehead, and his hand subconsciously reached for the jade stones in his pocket.

Liam’s eyes flickered with a dark light, before he swiped across the Monitor’s neck.

The poor man’s head slid across his shoulders, spurting blood across the room.

His body thudded on the holographic map, before the projection flickered off and lost its glow.

‘Should’ve listened.’

The source of the array was the cultivator himself, and with him dead, Liam’s focus instantly shifted to Vamar’s location.

‘I have a rough thirty minute window to kill him before they find out that their array is disabled and increase their protections around him.’ Liam thought, before searching the cultivator’s belongings and taking his space-ring, as well as making sure to hide the jade stones he had.

He hid the body as well, before carefully leaving the room and spreading his senses.

Liam had one specific location in mind, specifically where Vamar himself would be in.

‘Two corridors to the right, one to the front. He’ll be there.’

With that spot in mind, Liam began to move.

Instantly, he sensed more cultivators patrolling the hallways further up — which he couldn’t go through without instigating a fight.

Spotting the window by the end of his corridor, he jumped out of it and perched on its ledge — the cold air stiffening his exposed skin.

The night was dark, and thick snow drizzled from above. Few stars could be seen from the dense gray clouds.

Right below him, there were guards patrolling the premise, who thankfully didn’t care to look above.

Liam didn’t take in the sight and began to jump between ledges, avoiding the window sills which had their lights on.

After traversing enough distance, Liam’s gaze fixed on a window that exuded a cozy yellow light, which he leaped towards and silently peeked through.

Vamar was unsuspecting, pacing left and right in his study room with a Jade in his hand. As he spoke, his tone was filled with scorn and disappointment.

“You stupid fools! Because of your incompetence, the Royce family is crawling up my behind! Stop any current operations and go back into hiding. I’ll have a talk with that maniac leader of yours, until then, don’t you dare make a single move.”

After he spoke those words, he threw the Jade on the ground and stomped on it, shattering it.

Liam’s eyes flickered with a dark light as he pulled open the window.

The wind blew and howled, making the curtains flutter violently.

Vamar instantly turned his head to see where the noise came from, just for his vision to go dark with a sharp, but fleeting pain.

Vamar’s neck separated from his body, making a ‘thud’ sound as it fell to the red-carpeted floor — brightened by the blood that stained it.

Staring at the gruesome scene, Liam shook his head.

He had learned multiple ways of assassination — most certainly cleaner and less painful than decapitation — but this method had been specifically requested from the guild.

A stern reminder for those who defy authority.

Chapter 26: Wealth

Liam couldn’t afford to waste time. He inspected Vamar’s person, taking off the space-ring resting on his finger.

He began inspecting the room itself, hurriedly opening the drawers, cabinets and dressers.

His search was fruitful, as he managed to find a container of pills that varied in size and color. He quickly stored it in his space-ring, before leaving the room once and for all.

Through a similar route, he made his way to a cold storage room, filled with containers and boxes.

From the sounds of music still playing, Liam knew the bodies hadn’t been found yet.

He silently entered the bathroom stall without being spotted, and changed his clothes back into the dark black robe — putting on his golden earrings — before making his way back to the party.

The celebration continued like usual, most of the nobles were drunk, their faces flushed as they continued to laugh and dance.

Liam couldn’t help but look down on such people.

‘Like animals, they waste their life. They could be doing so much more with their wealth and status, but they piss it away for nothing.’

He shook his head inwardly, heading by the banquet area and picking up a meal.

As much as he wanted to leave — to cultivate no doubt — he couldn’t. He needed to wait until the bodies were found and fear made its way in the nobles’ hearts.

Before long, multiple robed figures diverged to where Vamar’s office was, and grave expressions were on their faces.

They first stopped the musicians from playing any music, before grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Noblemen and women, may I have your attention please?” The strongest among them spoke, a grave look on his face as he swept the crowd.

The partiers shifted their focus to the guard, pausing all their activities.

“Master Vamar has been… assassinated. Reinforcements are arriving shortly.”

Gasps resounded all throughout the floor, with looks of shock and horror plastered on their faces.

Liam himself acted surprised, blending in flawlessly within the crowd. Yet anyone who paid astute attention could tell his expression was a bit forced and unnatural.

“Vamar… has been murdered?!”

“Who could infiltrate a noble manor like this?!”

“Wait, did you catch the killer?”

The guard shook his head, plunging the crowd into chaos and panic.

Some started to run out the door – clutching the hands of their children – taking out their Jade’s and calling for their guards, uncaring of how cowardly it looked.

Soon, all present nobles followed suit, pushing and shoving each other to exit through the main gate. Curses, screams and loud shouts spread through the air.

Liam wasn’t one to hold back either, ramming those that stood in front of him.

“Move, dog!” He shouted.

The lanky noble in front of Liam wanted to retort and slap the young man across his face, but saw the golden earrings hanging from his ear.

Obediently, he made way.

The middle-aged coachman from before spotted Liam approaching and opened the carriage door.

“Well done, sir.”

Liam shot him a quick nod before he sat inside the car, gazing disappointedly at the petrified nobles from his window.

‘There’s no way they’re all like this. After all, that human who killed a dragon in my childhood has to be a noble, too.’

As the carriage started to move, Liam took out the black space-rings he stole.

‘In the Binding Oath, there’s nothing that prevents me from stealing, but I’m sure they’ll inspect me… just in case, I won’t take anything too valuable or take too much.’

They still had the ‘Ora’ imprints of their owners, but Liam slowly wiped it out with his mental energy.

Starting with the Monitor’s ring, he inspected it.

The space was roughly 15 square meters in size. It contained a simple Rank-2 body tempering method — and miscellaneous like clothes and tobacco — but everything else was worthless.

‘I’ll swap my ring with his. The five extra meters could come in handy, and they probably won’t notice.’

After completing the full transition, Liam wiped away Vamar’s ‘Ora’ imprint and entered his ring.

Instantly, his eyes widened.

There was a full 50 square meters of space inside the ring, filled with various items such as pills, piles of glittering ‘Ora’ Stones, even techniques and spells!

Liam couldn’t hide his greed from appearing on his face.

A moment later, he shook his head with regret.

‘It’s no use if I try to steal these. They’ll eventually find out something is amiss, and I’ll probably get executed. What use is wealth if I don’t have the power to protect it?’

‘…I’ll keep the box of pills that he kept inside his drawer. There’s only five inside anyways.’

Still, his ethereal eyes inside the space-ring couldn’t help but stare at the items inside.

‘What is that?’ Liam wondered, his eyes fixed to a stack of parchment papers that looked to be inscribed.

Taking it out of Vamar’s ring, he examined it.

The shabby writings on the parchment looked to be made entirely out of blood, but it still somewhat resembled a technique or method from Vamar’s stack of techniques and spells.

‘I should save this. I don’t think they’ll notice it’s gone. I have a feeling it’ll come to use later on.’

Before long, Liam had arrived back at the guild.

Chapter 27: Path

As soon as Liam walked down the guild stairs, Ophis greeted him — a dazzling smile on her full lips.

“Well done, kid! The coachmen told me everything, give your teacher a hug. You deserve this reward.”

Ophis spread her arms and gestured Liam to a gentle embrace.

“I’m good, thanks. Do you need me around? I need to head to the armory.”

Ophis’ eye twitched, a dangerous light appearing in her brown irises. Inwardly, she contemplated whether or not to take out her needles.

Eventually, she shook her head. “Do you have any items from your mission?”

Liam nodded, taking out two space-rings and chucking them towards her.

Ophis thoroughly inspected the rings. Liam had already wiped away all traces of his ‘Ora’ imprint — multiple times just to be sure — which didn’t leave any room for suspicion.

“Great. I trust you didn’t take anything from these, right?”

Liam sighed and shook his head. “I know you know I’m smart enough not to.”

Ophis giggled playfully, before gesturing for Liam to carry on his way.

Meanwhile, Liam instantly entered the armory.

Ava was there as usual, greeting him with a warm smile and a quick wave.

“Can you show me the tempering methods you have for a Rank-3 body?”

Ava raised a brow, her tone caring and wise. “Aren’t you still Rank-1, though? There’s still some time before you break through, young lad.”

Liam hid the fact that only a few more of his cycles were left. The reason he wanted a Rank-3 tempering method so soon, was to begin cultivating as soon as he broke through to the second Rank.

It seemed that, ever since Liam was reborn, he didn’t let a single second go to waste.

“I just want to take a look.” He responded blankly.

Ava eventually sighed.

A moment later, she put her palm on her marble desk, a faint golden glow encompassing her hand.

From the inscribed marble surface, a small stone rune appeared.

“Just use your mental waves on that rune. All the Rank-3 tempering methods available will appear in your mental sphere.”

Liam held back his amazement and quickly did so.

Instantly, names and descriptions of multiple Rank-3 tempering methods appeared in his mind.

‘Sworded Fingers. Rank-3 tempering method.’

‘Upon completion, it gives the user the ability to turn their fingers into sharp spikes at any time, which could cut through steel and armor like butter. ‘Ora’ bolsters the lethality of the spikes, adding a poisonous side effect.’

‘Merit requirement: 230.’

Liam’s eyes widened when he saw the technique’s price.

He inspected his own token, which he had brought up to 95 points during the past two months through missions and quests — including his first main mission that gave him 40 merits.

‘Damn it! I’m still this far behind?’

Nonetheless, he wasn’t disheartened and continued browsing through the methods.

Most of them were around the same range of 150-250 merits, and contained a special ability of sorts.

Eventually, Liam’s eyes got stuck to a specific parchment. Strangely enough, it was the cheapest amongst all of them, but also the most reckless and gruesome.

‘Throes of Anguish. Rank-3 tempering method.’ Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om

‘Uses pain as a way to advance through the rank. Battle wounds, poisoning, burns, etc… any type of pain transforms into ‘Ora’ that nourishes the body and slowly advances it. Contains regeneration capabilities.’

‘The completion results in a Rank-3 body that allows you to store pain and use it to gain large amounts of strength momentarily.’

‘Price – 75 Merits’

Liam heaved a sigh. “I’ll take this one, please.”

Ava scowled, her tone grave as she reprimanded:

“Do you know what you’re doing, lad? Once you begin cultivating a tempering method, you can’t leave it midway. Don’t do something you might regret. There’s a reason why it’s so cheap. It’s illegal in Ucladd.”

Liam could guess why no one else wanted the technique despite its low price.

A method that had slight amounts of pain — or large depending on the rank — while using it wasn’t rare, and most of the time, it was only a side effect.

These methods were called Unorthodox — due to their fast but oftentimes risky and painful methods of progress — while the opposite was true for Orthodox methods.

However, a tempering method that only used sheer agony to grow stronger… what kind of deranged maniac would be that reckless to use it?

Other than Liam himself, of course.

“I’ll buy it.”

Ava’s mouth opened with a reprimanding expression, but a moment later, closed with a defeated sigh.

Cultivators made their own paths. Who was she to judge how others paved their way to strength?

In fact, those with grit and strong will succeeded more often than not in such a harsh world.

She took his token and put it on top of the table. A short moment after, a clean parchment paper formed on her hand, which she passed over to Liam along with his token.

The number on his token was now ’20’, but Liam didn’t have any regrets.

Wrapping up with his business with the guild, he headed straight to the forest to meet Lloyd.

It was night time, and Eve was already asleep.

‘It’s about time I ask him about my father.’

Chapter 28: Powerless

Soon, Liam arrived at the ravine.

The surrounding landscape had a thick layer of snow, but the river still gushed forth, since the geysers didn’t freeze during winter.

Lloyd was sitting bare under the chilling waterfall — wearing only the bottom half of his clothes — his eyes closed in deep meditation.

Liam picked up a fist sized rock, hurling it at his mentor with the form of a professional athlete.

Before it could collide with his face, Lloyd’s eyes burst forth as he swiftly caught the rock.

“You little rascal!”

Although his tone was slightly angry, Lloyd couldn’t hide a warm smile from appearing on his face.

He stepped off the waterfall and greeted his student with a strong side fistbump.

“How’d your mission go?” Lloyd asked, using a towel to dry off his short hair.

“Great. Made me realize how much I hate parties and wasting time.” Liam responded.

Lloyd chuckled, putting on his clothes. “I figured as much. You have a loner and unapproachable air around you.”

Liam shrugged.

The student and teacher conversed for a few more minutes, before Liam eventually asked:

“I wanted to ask… do you know anything about my family or who my father is? I thought you might know since you brought us food when I was a child.”

Lloyd flinched and raised his brows. Eventually, he sighed and sat down, gesturing to Liam to do the same.

After a long silence, he started speaking.

“He’s from the Royce family.”

Liam remembered that name. Vamar had uttered it with fear in his voice.

“They’re the ruling family of Ucladd.”

Liam’s eyes instantly widened.

“I only know this because of my time as an assassin — which allowed me to peer into the politics of Ucladd. From what I’ve heard, one of their high ranking members can’t control his desires.”

Liam repeatedly cursed, his expression dark and distant.

To have a noble as a foe was one thing, to have a ruler as an enemy was another. With this in mind, the numerous hindrances to Liam’s path grew thicker and much more difficult.

Unadulterated killing intent silently spread throughout the surroundings, as Liam unknowingly spread his mental waves.

Lloyd saw the dangerous light in Liam’s eyes grow even darker. The amount of bloodlust honestly shocked him, as only Magi were able to freely spread their killing intent.

“Calm down.”

Lloyd’s calm words took Liam out of his stupor.

It took a minute for him to suppress his violent thoughts.

“Do you know his name?” Liam asked in a low voice, and Lloyd responded by shaking his head.

“Listen, Liam,” Lloyd put his hand on his student’s shoulder, squeezing firmly. “Right now, you’re too weak to do anything to any of these people, let alone the noble rulers.

“The only reason you’re alive is because they don’t care enough to kill you… and that’s a good thing.”

Liam’s scowl deepened, but he didn’t interrupt.

“Be patient and always think ahead. Your time will come eventually… to enact whatever morbid justice you have in your head.”

Liam lowered his head, pondering those words as a long sigh escaped his lips. He felt powerless, but a similar feeling of resolution arose in his heart.

He stood up and shifted his gaze to his teacher. “Thanks for the words, I’ll do my best to follow them. I’ll head home now.”

Lloyd shot an understanding look towards his student, before the pair separated.

Liam creaked open his house door, sensing Eve sleeping in the living room couch.

She had dark-blue circles under her eyes, which Liam could guess was from staying up late waiting for his return.

His face turned dark a second later.

‘Both your husband and son are shitty people, Eve.’

He shook his head, before picking up a fur-made blanket and throwing it over her.

A second later, he entered his room, taking out the box of pills he stole from Vamar’s drawer.

The pills were sealed, and out of the five present, two pairs were the same.

Liam recognized the first as the revitalization pills, except these ones had a much darker brown color.

‘It’s probably more potent.’ He assessed, before shifting his gaze to the remaining three.

The other matching pair were silvery white in color, with a circular shape that wafted a bitter smell.

‘I’ll have to ask around in the underground if anyone knows about these. After a while, though, just to be safe.’

He shifted his attention to the last remaining pill.

It was a square shaped dark-purple pill, with blue and yellow patches all over it. The pill smelled like a dangerous poison, and had a strange aura surrounding it.

‘I bet it’s valuable.’ Liam smiled, before putting the pills inside his ring again.

A moment later, he took out his Psionic Rune and began with his usual training.

Like so, a few weeks passed.

Chapter 29: Slaves

Liam chose to do his final cycle inside the guild cave, just cause it was easier to instantly begin his Rank-3 tempering method after breaking through.

His upper body was bare and a look of determination rested on his face. After all, he needed to go through ten minutes of boiling heat assaulting his insides.

Heaving a sigh, he began with the breathing technique.

Steam slowly arose from his figure, condensing to the top of his ‘Ora’ cave. The heat surrounding him increased substantially, as though he was inside a forge.

One minute passed.

Liam wasn’t bothered at all. It seemed that with higher mental capabilities, one could ignore pain much more effectively. Added to the fact that his body was also strong.

Three minutes passed.

Slowly, Liam’s insides were beginning to push out the impurities in his body. He felt it inching away from his organs and skin like a viscous paste.

Six minutes passed.

At this point, Liam’s skin had transitioned from a light red to a dark purple, his body emitting a boiling hot aura.

Ten minutes passed.

Liam’s purple skin had started to turn black as he started to convulse. His pores pushed out all the accumulated impurities from his body, which bubbled and boiled with heat.

Hant! Hant! Hant!

Liam took in deep breaths to revitalize his dead lungs. The panting continued for at least five minutes, before strength gradually returned to his body.

He felt strong. Powerful.

‘I wonder how it would’ve been if I fought against Wyrel in this state.’

The first thing he did was leave his cave and enter the bathing area for a wash.

He dipped himself into the steaming water pool — which resembled more of a jacuzzi — ridding his body of the black goo, slowly revealing his figure.

The first thing Liam noticed was how defined his muscles now looked. He could even see the striations that ran across his arms and chest.

His frame grew stronger and sturdier, while his skin grew a shade purer, making him seem even paler than he was.

In addition, he felt his senses surge in sharpness.

Moreover, his skin and flesh was in a constant tense state. He was still lean and slim, but having more muscle mass didn’t exponentially increase one’s strength when tempering the body.

At the same time, Liam felt the ‘Ora’ reserves within his figure increase in capacity substantially.

“I can fight Rank-2 magical beasts now. I don’t think Lloyd can underestimate me now, either. I can also express the full strength of my Sun & Moon arts.”

A wide grin appeared on Liam’s face. In his mind, those mountainous hurdles and walls on his path grew a bit smaller.

“First things first, I’ll need to start the Throes of Anguish tempering method, then I’ll test this body out.”

Liam finished with his bath and entered right back into the cave, cleaning out the filth from within.

Liam had already studied the technique’s requirements which didn’t take long.

The technique simply required him to scrape off parts of his skin and flesh, while absorbing ‘Ora’ into them in a specific pattern. This had to occur on every single patch of skin on his body, even under the toenails and crown jewels.

Due to the regenerative properties, the body would go back to normal in a few minutes after the process was complete, and the flesh would grow back.

The skin was the main way the body was going to advance, since wounds accumulating on it would turn into nourishment.

He took out his Night Blades and started undressing.

He began with enveloping his mental energy around his body to assess how deep to cut, then used the edge of the blades to rub away the skin, starting with his right foot.

Small amounts of blood started to flow and stain the stone floor, revealing a fleshy interior.

A sharp stinging sensation grew on his foot, but it wasn’t enough to break his focus.

Instantly, he started to absorb ‘Ora’ into the bloody patch of skin, manipulating it just the way the technique instructed.

Due to his constant training and daily cultivation, his control with the world essence had grown smoother.

A thin yellow membrane formed around the wound, causing the blood to stop flowing, and at a closer sight, healing the flesh itself. Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om

Liam was slightly amazed at the sight, yet it only lasted a moment before he continued skinning parts of himself.

‘If I go too slow, the ‘Ora’ membrane that formed on my skin will dissipate and bring me back to square one. Only when the membrane covers my entire body will it finally start regenerating.’

It took him another hour to completely skin both of his feet, including the flesh under the toenails, while constantly forming the ‘Ora’ membrane at the same time.

Beads of cold sweat continued to flow down his face and body, falling down and diluting the blood accumulated on the cave floor. His face was paler than usual, but his focus was unwavering.

Three hours passed.

If one could see the inside of a certain cave, they’d be incredulous to the lump of skinned flesh that sat cross legged while a thin yellow membrane almost enveloped his entire figure, making it glow.

Liam’s nerves were screaming in sheer agony, and even the air around his body caused him pain. Still, he pushed himself to cut the last patch of flesh.

‘A little more!’

Eventually, the membrane completely converged around his bloodied muscles, causing his body to glow even brighter, while the previously mangled skin was slowly starting to regrow at a rapid rate.

By the end, Liam’s body turned into its original form, and his skin felt like it was stuffed with a honey-like substance.

He let out a long deep breath and fell on the ground, uncaring of the blood and other liquids sticking to his figure. All around him, pieces of his own skin stacked on one another.

‘Finally.’

He let out another sigh of relief, before popping one of the weaker revitalization pills in his mouth.

Finishing another bath, Liam wore his usual clothing, before heading to the mission room to accept a job.

His eyes scoured the numerous posters.

‘I can always fight against Rank-2 beasts later. Escort missions take too long. Preferably, I’d like to test my new battle prowess against actual cultivators.’

Liam’s eyes fell on a mission that fit his needs perfectly.

‘Slavers elimination.’

His irises lit up as he read the job description.

‘Perfect.’

Chapter 30: Missing

In an area known as the Shallow Mountain Rivers towards the west of Ucladd, a figure with dark green irises silently dashed from tree to tree, a trail of snow following his lithe steps.

Like the location’s name suggested, shallow frozen rivers ran through the ground, intersecting and joining with one another as they went above hills and the rough terrain.

“Amazing… I can almost feel each snowflake fall on my skin and melt on it.’

A smile grew on Liam’s face.

His awareness and focus towards his surroundings also changed for the better, in addition to his feeling and perception.

As he continued to flawlessly traverse through the surroundings, voices entered his ears.

A far distance away, past the trees and thick fog, Liam noticed a large caravan, surrounded by men in front and behind it.

‘Wow… I can hear and even see them from that distance?’ He thought in astonishment, before his expression turned serious.

Burly men in various heights and sizes wore stern expressions, black bandana masks covered their faces, and they seemed to be on guard.

The caravan they surrounded was the size of a school bus — drawn by regular steeds — and Liam already knew what it contained.

‘Slaves.’

Human trafficking was no surprise to him in a ruthless world like this.

Liam’s intentions were in a gray area.

On one hand, he could free the slaves and quickly finish the mission, and on the other, he needed to know where these bandits were taking them.

He had to let them continue for the moment.

‘There must be a black market of some sort where they want to sell the slaves. I’ll trail them to see where they go.’

Slowly, Liam inched closer to hear what they were talking about.

Eventually, he could make out what they were saying.

“How many times did I tell you not to touch the merchandise, you little sh*t?!”

A muffled and guttural voice reprimanded, his hand curling into a punch as he sent a scrawny man flying.

The voice came from a large man with broad shoulders, his black eyes exuding wrath.

He shot an understanding look towards someone on his right.

The man nodded and swiftly unsheathed his sword from his hip.

The scrawny man was already half beaten to death, making him unable to run, his eyes filled with fear as he apologized and begged for his life.

The ‘Leader’ went back into the caravan along with the others, and the scrawny man’s begging came to an abrupt stop.

A streak of warm blood flew horizontally in the air before a thud quietly sounded.

Blood flowed from the man’s severed head and tainted the snow red, while his body was left to rot and decay.

Liam shook his head, but his eyes were cold and aloof as he saw the scene.

A moment later, the caravan started to move, and he silently followed along.

‘Eight cultivators, the rest are small fries. They all have Rank-1 bodies and cores, but no spells or powerful techniques. I’ll take most of them out silently.’

Eventually, the caravan stopped ahead of the steep side of a mountain.

The slope had multiple entrances, big enough for two to three people to walk through side by side.

Still, it was quite a distance away, and it wasn’t traversable using the carriage due to the rocky terrain; thus, they left it behind.

They pulled out the slaves from the carriages, and Liam got a good look at their condition.

Most were young women wearing thick rags. The rest were either young men or kids.

All of them were tightly chained up together from their ankles and wrists.

From what Liam could see, there were a few old people too, but they had already lost their life inside the carriage due to the cold and lack of care.

The bandits dragged the dead slaves and unlocked their chains, before throwing them in the snow to be eaten by the wolves.

Those alive among them had dead and empty eyes as they walked with their head lowered, bruises and other injuries visible on their figures.

Liam’s goal was already achieved.

It was time to put them down.

He waited for an opportunity.