As we silently go to the abandoned area were many people are.
"I think you already know this bu no matter what you see, do not make any sound, kay?"
"Of course"
We whispered.
The night was silent. Dark. A lot of thick clouds blocking the moonlight.
We arrive at the scene but there was nothing there. No houses or any buildings. No trace of any human activities.
Underground maybe.
Sending an aura shock which would fluctuate to the ground, to confirm if the people I am getting are undergrounds.
And as I thought they were beneath the ground. Around twenty meters. Base on the positioning of the souls there are only a few being restricted or just that they are close to each other.
"Sir. Michael what did you do just now?"
"That was an aura shock. It lets me see the position and location of everyone that it hits. You won't feel anything when it hit you though. Unless you know how to use this"
I don't know the entrance here but teleporting to the location of someone who is alone would be the best option.
"Hold my hand"
"Okay"
In an instant, the quiet field we were on just now became noisy. Talep immediately apprehended the man whom I use as a receiver to teleport. He was a guard. Guarding a giant vault. One way in one way out.
The guard lost consciousness. Now that I take a closer look isn't he a slave. He was weak, however there was a very suspicious looking button. An alarm perhaps? No wonder the guard was so weak. Around twenty meters from here, there is a room where there are about eight people. Opening the vault with no prior information may also doom us.
I won't be able to teleport us again in the next one hour due to the after effects. Even though I have tolerance already, the headaches still hurts!
"What are we going to do now, Sir?
"Just call me Mike"
"Y-yes... Sir. Mike"
"I meant just Mike. No need for formalities since we are alone. Are you confident you can take on five men at the same time?"
"Yes!" He replied seriously.
Going to the "other room" near the vault, we readied ourselves. Before bursting in I decided to eavesdrop first.
........
Apparently we are in a black market, a big one. Based on the voices there are at most three males and the rest are females.
"Let's go!"
We forcefully open the lock door. And the other eight were indeed surprise. There was no way there can be anyone other than the guard since there was only one way in. It doesn't make sense to me though. Why would there be a guard, guarding a vault if the owner.... Forget it. I'm gonna lose my brain cells if I think about it.
Talep quickly went to the other side of the room blocking the other door. Raising his sword and covering it with fire. Whoosh. The fire now was different than the previous one I saw. Now it's a golden colored flame, heaven's flame.
"Wh-what is a holy knight doing here?!" (Man 1)
You can see in their faces they were afraid. The five girls went into one corner. I can see what is going on here. Some kind of secret meeting. While the girls are their personal "Entertainment".
Ugh. No matter what era, there are stains in the world that just can't be remove no matter how hard you try to clean it.
"Now do please answer my question honestly if not then we're gonna see some heads rolling on the ground" I said with a smile.
"Who the f*ck are you?!"
Does he really need to curse at me? I'm really not a big fan of words like that.
I gestured Talep to guard the outside and keep on lookout. While I, the boss, casually sat down on the most expensive looking chair.
I took out my dagger and pointed it at them.
"Hey girls, why are they here? If you don't talk you know what's going to happen right?"
They shook their heads in disagreement. Based on their expression they are afraid what will happen to them once I go out. Despite trembling in fear this much they won't talk, huh.
The other three men sighed in relief.
Using soul manipulation, I drag one of the guys to my side.
"Now let's take things nice and easy, okay. Oh don't worry, you won't die. After stabbing you I will just heal you again" I said merrily like a maniac.
"You monster!"
"Zip it!"
"One of them is planning to run to the vault to press the alarm" (Loki)
"Who?"
"The young one. The one with no shirt on" (Loki)
I ask the guy beside me what they were talking about just now. Everytime he scream, curse at me, or when he won't answer my question I would stab him. I heal him afterwards though.
Twenty minutes later, he broke. His spirit is basically dead already. Oh come on, I was healing him right after I stabbed him. His tolerance against pain sure is low.
I turn and look at the others who are still in the corner of the room, shaking, not knowing who will be the next one. I gently put the ( mentally dead) guy's body on a bed.
Since that guy is planning to run away. I better catch him then.
I took the other guy, the old one using the same method. I toss him around putting my back to the corner of the room where the others were. Just as I thought, the moment I turn around the other guy quickly run towards the vault. He might have thought that my
I threw the knife to his thigh. He moan in pain. Crawling towards the vault not caring about the fact that I already knew his little plan.
I'm not going to kill him or anything to begin with.
Ignoring the guy I just took I went closer to the other one who attempted to run away. I put him to sleep right after pulling the dagger and healing his wound.
"Now, are you willing to talk?"
The last guy who was left quake in fear even more. He quickly took a pill in his pocket and swallowed it. Committing suicide.
"Now, now, I can't let that happen now can I"
I healed him which was extremely draining and put his soul back. After experimenting, I found out that I can only resurrect someone once a day.
"Good morning! I can just bring you back to life as much as I want you know. So don't pull off something like that again, okay"
That is a lie.
[The Goddess, Master of the Souls, is greatly interested in you]
"Loki, who is she?"
"You idiot! She is Goddess Azraelle! One of the highest ranking Goddess among all Gods and Goddesses!" (Loki)
Huh? A Goddess that even Loki who is classified as an intermediate God respects this much? I don't really like getting watch. And, as far as I know, superior rank Gods and Goddesses are supposed to be incredibly busy. How the hell is she even keeping her eyes on me?
I should focus on what I am doing right now.
"Now, are you willing to talk?"
He nodded. Finally!
He then explain to me bit by bit the connections he have. Your normal black market. Illegal products, illegal activities, etc. I also ask him how to open the vault. And said that there was a special code. A password is needed.
After getting the password from him I called Talep.
"We are bringing this guy with us from on!"
Just as I was talking to him, the alarm went off. That guy's already awake? We ran to the vault, ignoring the guard who is barely standing.
"All secrets must be buried down to the grave!"
The vault opened. We get in. As the door was about to close, guards bursted in. It would be a hassle fighting them in such a narrow space.
Inside the vault was tons of gold, treasures and others.
The vault's doors started to shake. Slowly cracking.
I quickly put everything into my inventory leaving scraps behind.
"Let's go!"
The door got destroyed but we already got out.
I vomited blood. Aaah! It hurts.
"I should have rested more"
"What is happening to you Sir. Mike?" He ask worriedly.
"Its okay.... I'll explain later on"
I should have rested one whole hour to teleport the two of us. But not only did I teleport three, I only rested about forty minutes. That is basically the same thing as committing torture to oneself.
I healed myself and felt a bit better. Talep carried the both of us all the way back to the inn's backyard.
"You go inside first"
"How can I just leave you behind in this state?!"
"Its fine. Plus I have something to do here. Oh, call Nunu. This is an order"
"Understood" He replied reluctantly.
Okay, let's check his information.
[Status Information]
Name: Alister
Class: None
Race: Dwarf
Sex: Male
Age: 29 (10)
Level: 7
HP: 900/900
MP: 3,100/3,100
Strength: 21
Agility: 29
Stamina: 33
Intelligence: 46
Level cap: 25
Psychological state: Tremendous fear
Status: Slave (Blood contract)
Abilities: Earth
Attributes: None
+
Psychological state and status. Those two are new. Mm.
"Loki, is it possible for me to overwrite his blood contract with my
"That I cannot tell you"
"Master"
"Nunu gather some mana"
After gathering some, I use half of it to heal myself and the other half to replenish my mana capacity.
"Okay,
[Warning: Target cannot be turn into a slave. Target has a curse preventing the
Curses requires a ritual or some kind of prayer. Touching the target is required. And he is in a blood contract.
Nunu carried Alister to our room.
Since we are all men, I went ahead and strip him. I search through his body and found a sigil. This must be where the caster touch him. But of all places in his body, why here?
I need to remove this fast. Since his owner is still there, he can command Alister to take his own life.
[The Goddess, Master of the Souls, propose a soul contract]
What is it now?
"Loki, what is this?"
"Goddess Azraelle is proposing contract to you. Stating that she will remove the curse in this guys body if you rethink of becoming her apostle"
"What are the merits of being one?"
"For starters you will receive a gift in exchange you will also have a restriction"
"May I see what it contains?"
The sheet of paper on top of my drawer started to emanate light. Another one of those blinding lights. I pick it up and read it...
[As for being my apostle, you will receive my gift. I will also release the suffering of that young dwarf. The only thing I will restrict you is that you are absolutely not allowed to kill anyone who doesn't deserve death. Before killing someone whom you do not know whether they do deserve death, you may request a challenge. If they do not accept the challenge you cannot kill them and vice versa. If you do break this contract, I will take your soul as my own]
Hmm. Nothing disadvantageous about this.
"I accept"
I signed the contract and quickly check my status.
[Status Information]
Name: Michael Santiago
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Age: 23
Level: 37
HP: 1,300/1,300
MP: 7,000/7,000
AP: 26,000/26,000
Strength: 38
Agility: 34
Stamina: 56
Intelligence: 151
Level cap: ???
Psychological state: ???
Status: ???
Abilities: Soul, Divine healing, Fire, Aura
Attributes: Holy
Slave(s):
-Nunu
-Alister
-Marcus Deswum
Blessing(s):
-Hero's gift
-Master of the Souls' gift
Title(s):
-Rune master
-Soul wizard
-The Immortal Soldier
+
My stats went up a lot.
Nunu dressed Alister back and he slept right after.
Now that I look closely, in my left hand, another 'mark' appeared.
"What is this mark?"
"That is the symbol of Goddess Azraelle" (Loki)
Is that so.
Morning came and we parted ways. Red left early to start reconnaissance, Phoebe and Zel head out after breakfast. She said that it will take them two weeks to go to the capital of Aigreos from here.
"Wake up sleeping beauty!"
I said as I toss cold water on him.
He was startled. Seriously, sleeping for about fifteen hours. He must be tired, he was working as a slave just last night after all. But his clothes and hands indicates nothing much happened to him anyway.
"W-where am I? You?!"
He fell face flat on the floor.
I explained the situation to him after he changed his clothes. I can't believe this twerp is actually older than me. Then again, dwarves live three times longer than humans. It also says that he is ten years old if he is a human. So I am still the older one!
If Alister and Nunu were both human, appearance wise they would be considered as late teens.
"You remove me from my curse?"
"Yup. Now you are mine. May I ask what you do back then. You are not the type who would do labor based on your body's condition"
Flinched.
What does he do to have that kind of reaction?
"Well... I do paper works"
"Yeah right. They wouldn't have treated you so well if that is the only thing you can do"
"Whip"
"Whip?"
"I would..... whip..... my master's..... sister"
"Huh? Wait what? "
He red all over. Something embarrassing like that means.
"Your master's sister is a masochist?" I ask.
And he nodded.
"I'm gonna ask just in case. You are a virgin, right?"
"OF COURSE I AM!!!!"
"There's no need to yell at me you know"
"I... I'm sorry"
He slightly bowed down.
So he do that kind of thing to live. Whoa.
"Well, welcome to the crew. Hope you don't mind having to follow my orders from now on"
"I do not have a choice though"
"You sure adapt easily"
"I'm used to it"
"Call me Mike from now on, kay?"
"I cannot do that. I am a slave. And you are my master"
He knelt down slowly.
Why do people keep kneeling down. It okay to bow down but, ugh.
"Fine. Let's go then"
"Where?"
"To the outbreak!"