Dracs and the captain were walking leisurely in the forest of the yellow river. The past months had been hard on them both, especially for the captain. But strangely now that they were near to enter the Clan, he was a bit nostalgic of these crazy days.
This new Master had already won him over and strengthened his resolve about his cultivation path, his horizons were also greatly broadened. And it could be said that the power he had shown him with just a Profound Realm cultivation had greatly shocked him.
And for the first time since he met this man, the captain had seen his human side and he was also greatly shocked. Albeit being a cultivation monster, this Master seemed to know how to enjoy life carefreely.
Their last days were like a stroll between old friends or to be more precise, between an old servant and his old master, enjoying each step and scenery.
But it wasn't a simple matter of fact or because of the time passed together in this servant master relationship, the seed of corruption inside the captain had also evolved, this was only natural.
Dracs was of course aware of this change but didn't think that it was necessary to speak about it. In his mind he was only happy to be able to enjoy the company of this middle aged man.
It was hard for him to behave like a human all the time because of his new different nature, the system was after all an integrated part of himself, not an accessory. Fortunately, his new companion was not the curious one who would ask many questions all the time.
Their conversations were simple, and that was all. But Dracs could feel that the captain was curious about him but he was only restraining himself from it.
But this time, their situation was going to change.
They were around a campfire, sitting on the forest ground and eating their respective meal, but of course it was still the same diet for Dracs, but for the captain it was a greezy roasted blue bird.
A makeshift teapot placed in between them was giving off a delicious smoky smell of pine and honey.
After a while, the captain served the tea in two hand made cups he had made himself with stone in a crude way, but it was clean enough to have a drink.
Dracs accepted it as if it was natural and sipped it slowly, enjoying the natural fragrance. Then he looked at the captain and started to talk.
"You never told me your name, I don't care about your past or for what obscure reason you want to hide it so much, but for me it doesn't care. After all, we all have our past."
He took a little break to sip his tea before he continued.
"You know, I can also choose one for you, truth being told I'm pretty good at giving names." He said while sneering loudly, remembering Doshi's meaning.
The captain furrowed his eyebrows and had a complicated expression plastered on his face. He finally answered after some time.
"Gimmury. My name is Gimmury, I don't have a family name, but it could have been Akran, I'm a bastard of the Akran Clan."
For Dracs it was a surprise and he was happy about that! After all, the system couldn't calculate and predict something like this without the related information. And it was for the greater good.
"So it's Captain Gimmury Akran. As you already know I'm called Dracs. If you want people calling you Akran, don't let these old farts forbid you about it. Let me be clear, from where I came, this sort of crap didn't really exist, if you have a brother or a sister from a different parent, the moment they have the same blood even if it's half, they are called brother and sister."
"Master, if your birthplace is like this, I'm willing to follow you there whenever you want, ahah." He half jokingly said.
"Hm.." Dracs caressed his chin thoughtfully.
"I don't know if I want to return there, anyway I have many things I want to do here so don't talk about it anymore."
"I understand Master." He bowed his head slightly.
Dracs nodded.
"The reason I want to visit your Clan is because I need to accumulate all the knowledge gathered there. I will also pay my respects to my beloved Ancestor ahah. And of course we will not stay there for a long time."
He took another break, letting the middle aged man process the information.
"Are you telling me that I'm going with you?" Gimmury said with an expecting look in his eyes.
Dracs nodded again and continued.
"I need you to help me test my hypothesis. I think we'll have to run many tests before we will be able to obtain some results but I'm confident about it. And of course, your cultivation and bloodline should benefit from that."
The captain had some doubts but he did choose to trust his new Master.
"Master, can you be more precise, this lowly servant is clueless about what you just said?"
"Stop the crap, you're not my lowly servant."
The captain stared at him intently before laughing loudly.
"Ahah! You're right Master, I'm not humble but I know my place and how to behave but if you don't want that, it's better then. So tell me your plan, I'm all ears."
Dracs grinned then he said.
"I plan to enter the 'other world', the one you went to before we met. We can't be sure but there is a high probability that it was real. Before that, I need to make this body stronger if I can't find a way to create a new one of my own. I also need to find a place rich in Extreme Yin cold energy."
Gimmury was a little bit taken aback but as an experienced man he still understood the situation of his Master. So he said.
"And you need someone to cover your ass, right Master?"
He said while smiling behind his cup of tea.
"I need a bodyguard, of course as a young master of the Akran Clan I need a strong one when I'm going to tour the world."
When he heard that, Gimmury couldn't help but laugh out loud, he liked this plan very much!
"Ahah, the old fogeyz won't be happy about that, after all I'm still the captain of the guard and a powerful asset of the Clan."
"I already think things through. Your condition will be a hindrance to them but it will be almost the same because of the Ancestor's jade token. They will be really happy when we leave. So just tell them that you have already become my sworn knight or a bullshit like this if it is useful, I don't care about it."
Dracs was only speaking casually without his high system's ability but right at this moment the captain had stopped to smile.
"You shouldn't speak so lightly about this, Master. Knights have been revered since ancient times and only fated people and heroes would be given this title by an Emperor or a Saint-King."
Dracs only sneered and grinned, waving his hand in a leisurely way.
"Alright, from today you are my personal knight. How does it sound?"
Gimmury didn't react for a couple seconds but then he suddenly put a knee on the ground and saluted with his fist on his heart.
"It's my honor, Master. As your knight I swear upon my life to serve you until I die."
"Stop these bullshits! Your life is yours and only yours, don't throw it away like a vulgar cheap piece of meat. I refuse your shitty oath."
The solemn Gimmury had his jaws dropped and looked like he had just been drenched with a cold bucket of water! His expression was ugly as if he just ate a smelly shit, he couldn't believe what his Master had just said. But after a short moment he hardened his resolve and said again.
"I swear…"
But he was interrupted before he could finish!
"I refuse!"
"I SWEAR THAT I…"
"REFUSED."
"..."
"..."
After some time, Dracs could only sighed and accepted the stubborn man's oath.
"If you are happy with that shitty oath of yours, let it be!"
Gimmury's eyes gleamed with pride and joy and he said.
"I am officially your knight, Master, right?
"Right, right, good knight…" Dracs said, shaking his head.
"..."
[DING]
[The seed of corruption inside the servant named Gimmury Akran is evolving]
[Evolution requirement : 10,000cp + 100,000 units of energy' system]
"Wow, stop it! I don't even give my approval!" He shouted madly inside his head!
[Evolution will start in 10s...9s...8s...7s...6s...5s...4s...3s...2s...1s…]
"No, no, STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"
He failed to stop the process no matter how hard he tried it seemed impossible he could only watch his barely earned points melt like butter under the sun.
In the meantime, the captain had fallen onto the ground, convulsing and crying in pain as if he was being tortured.
After a while, his missing arm started to regrow to the naked eye, it was gruesome but also miraculous!
Dracs could only watch and wait until the entire process was done.
'System, show me my data.'
[Dracs' data] :
Specie : Corrupted Anomaly (unlisted)
Corruption points (CP) : 2,755 (-10,000)
Energy (system) : 18,932 (-100,000)
Cultivation rank : none
Cultivation technique : Corrupted Yin Body (default)
inventory : 50 cubic meters (1M to upgrade)
Skills (innate) : high sensor scanner / high level analytic / virtual library / camouflage / seed of corruption
Skills : Drain / Purify / Mindless puppet / Strings of confusion / Corrupted Yin Lotus
Martial Arts : Step of Illusion / Claw of the Corrupted Tiger
Bloodline : none
Seeds of corruption (active) : 3/5
Bloodline samples (relevant) : 99.9% white bat
[Host's body data] :
Specie : human (cultivator)
Cultivation rank : Profound Real (early)
Cultivation technique : Common Scripture of Akran Clan (default) / Yang Devouring Yin
Martial Arts : none
Bloodline : none