With a short sword in one hand and a shuriken made out of solidified earth in the other, Magnus, for the first time ever since the start of the Otherworld Trials, felt capable. He had large enough energy reserves and a way to replenish said reserves, allowing him to be more free with Master of the Hivemind.
Although he could not assimilate anyone new since his current limit was 3, it was good enough to have all of them active at the same time without caring for the expenses.
"Being rich is such a wonderful perk." Magnus could not hide his smirk as he walked through the crowd.
Jistill and Klaris were in position.
But just as he was about to act, he had a bad premonition.
"Don't do anything!" Mallow's voice reached his ears as a hushed yet urgent whisper.
It confirmed his premonition. Magnus kept his weapons down and waited.
Whoosh!
Passing above him was a human in the midst of flight. She moved faster than the birds in the sky, riding the winds as if it was nothing.
"A master!" Magnus exclaimed, and so did a few other people.
The sight of a human capable of flight was a source of inspiration and envy, something Magnus could understand a bit. For him though, instead of such emotions, he felt greed.
The greed of wanting to take it for himself by assimilation.
'Having such an expert working under the Hivemind would make things much easier for me.' Magnus licked his lips as he gazed at the human expert.
He waited for her to leave.
"Are we clear now?" Magnus double-checked with Mallow.
"No... Damn it. Something is happening with the humans. I can suddenly sense a few powerful presences! We have to postpone our revenge. I refuse to die here."
"Alright," Magnus retracted his blades.
A little delay was not a problem, until he felt a certain temptation.
The temptation to continue despite the risks.
A flash of deadly mischief coursed through his eyes as he leered at his target from afar.
"I need to be creative for this..." He muttered, making Mallow confused.
"Creative? Wait. Are you mobilising your Spirit Energy? Didn't I tell you the threat to our lives has just skyrocketed?" Mallow was exasperated as she jumped out of Magnus' garments.
But Magnus did not hear her.
He was going in for the kill.
Fwooosh!
A gust of wind, as well as dried soil suddenly shot up as a cloud of dust to obscure vision.
RooooAAAR!
Jistill's violent voice shook the area as the ground experienced a small-scale cataclysm.
Through Klaris' vision, Magnus locked onto his target. Lingering just at the edge of the dust cloud was a man who looked exhausted both physically and mentally.
Magnus did not know the man's name, but he didn't need to.
All he needed was the kill.
Magnus rushed forward through the dust cloud. His blade glinted in the torchlight rays that made it through.
"What is happening?!" A voice suddenly boomed, and Magnus felt a chill.
Fwwwwooooosh!
A massive wall of wind swept the area, blowing away the dust cloud, and revealing a scene of chaos. Panic-stricken citizens and people coughing were common sights. The most eye-catching of all, however, was Jistill's truck-sized lion body.
"A guardian beast!" It was at this point, with the visual confirmation, people panicked even further.
It made the human expert in the air frown.
"What are you doing here, beast?" She questioned.
She wanted to know why the beast waited for this moment to strike, in the middle of the city, with no escape.
But all she got was a roar of defiance.
ROAAAAR!
Magnus had not stopped despite the appearance of the human expert.
He continued forward, weaving between the panicking crowd until he appeared before his target.
"Hello, and goodbye."
Fwish!
With a slash of the sword, Magnus barely cut through his target's neck.
He then retreated as blood blossomed into the sky, not forgetting to fling the shuriken in his hands just as he dove into the crowds. It struck his target in the head and pierced through his skull.
"What?!" The human expert noticed the scent of blood in the air. Her head snapped towards Magnus' direction, and there she spotted an individual who was very much different from the panicking crowd around him.
"A murder... right under my nose?" The human expert's face crumpled, "Of all days for it to happen..."
A hundred wind blades blossomed out of her palms, slicing Jistill's massive body up, causing a huge amount of blood to flow. Jistill's screams of terror resonated across the area.
But the human expert did not care. With one last wind blade, she lopped off the beast's head.
She then shot out like a bullet. The air whistled as she flew, as she made a beeline towards the individual who was fleeing the scene of a murder.
"HALT!" She demanded, but once again, she was ignored.
With an ugly expression, a lethal twister of wind surged to life. It pushed back all the other citizens out of the way and isolated Magnus, who was just inches away from unsummoning range.
"DIE!" A crazy roar rang in his ears like thunder.
The thoughts he received from his technique was filled with blood lust and rage. Magnus looked over and witnessed the angriest face he had ever seen directed at him.
Together with wind blades in the hundreds.
But, at this point, it was all too late for the human expert.
Magnus took one more step forward, and so did Klaris.
The range requirement had been met.
With a smile and flash of light, Magnus disappeared.
It left the human expert stunned beyond imagination. Her wind blades tore scars into the earth but drew not a single drop of blood.
She missed her target.
In her eyes, Magnus deserved death. Magnus had tarnished her reputation and undermined her authority in front of many other powerful individuals with that murder and release of a beast. Now, he had even escaped her grasp without using a single ounce of their earth-stained Spirit Energy.
A master of air, unable to catch a criminal despite them being a user of the earth element?
Swiftness being unable to pursue solidity?
Embarrassing.
The human expert had yet to even count public opinion. Just the fact that there was a rabid beast appearing in the middle of the city meant that her name was truly going to be dragged through the dirt.
Her credibility was going to disappear.
And so was her future.
.
.
.
"Mm, that felt good!" Magnus was giggling to himself from underneath the hood of his cloak.
The fact that he was just inches away from dying a gruesome death like Jistill was enough to fill him with adrenaline.
Not to mention that he worked alone on that one. Mallow was just watching him risk his life for no reason other than pleasure. His Vow of the Lonely finally released its restraints.
And now that he had parted ways with Mallow, he would no longer feel burdened. His mind was suddenly clearer beyond reason.
He felt both stronger and smarter.
"This might be the full extent of the effects of all the fruit I've eaten." Magnus licked his lips, eager for more fruit and for more thrills.
He had practically forgotten about Jistill's death and his subsequent loss of a Spirit Energy buff. After all, the Hivemind seemed to work better with human beings. There was some kind of cloudiness that occurred whenever Magnus used Jistill's body.
It was likely the cause of a difference in cognitive abilities, functions, and limitations.
But, of course, being able to at least put a non-human being into the Hivemind was an amazing feat already.
"Perhaps more intelligent beings would be a wonderful supplement for the Hivemind as well." Magnus enjoyed his victory as he sipped on a glass of fruit juice. He was currently sitting at a tavern, immersing himself in the festive mood the people had.
"What's with all the happy smiles?" Magnus had asked the bartender while passing the man a silver coin.
"It's because we are being visited by a bunch of experts to help clear the monsters deeper underground." The bartender promptly replied.
Magnus nodded in understanding.
'That can explain that lady's expression of utter hatred...' Magnus felt a small pang of guilt.
But it was quickly snuffed out by his still-jovial mood. No matter what or how it happened, Magnus just had a brush with death.
You could say that he was in a state of shock.
Only,
He adored living on such a high.
Magnus even summoned Klaris to join him in a Spirit-enhancing drink. The man appeared with his mind returned to him and was pleasantly surprised.
"I'm still alive?" He asked.
To which, Magnus smiled, "The Hivemind values you, my friend. Of course you're alive. And now, your mission is to keep drinking and eating! This world is full of Spirit Energy. It is more than enough to heal you up."
With a stiff smile, Klaris nodded. He was not used to being in such a festive location. He was also very unused to having too much to eat and drink. His life in poverty was still crystal clear to him, making him the more timid one when compared to the young Magnus.
His only solace was the assertion that he was valued by the Hivemind.
He was able to feel like he had a family for the first time in his life.
.
.
.
After a short celebration in the tavern, Magnus began considering his next steps. He recalled the contents of his Personal Trial Scroll.
[[ Personal Trial Scroll: Moral Compass ]]
[[ In Tyrm, there exists natives who have just started building up their civilisation. Find them. Influence them. Or perhaps, annihilate them. What you do and how you do so will reflect what kind of Blessing you will be endowed with and what kind of Curse will shackle you. ]]
[[ Reward: Gain a Blessing and Curse of your own to help assimilate yourself with Thare. ]]
In the way Magnus understood things, that reflection that the Scroll spoke about could be some kind of memento power. If he killed a lot during his stay here, he would be gifted with a Blessing for killing. If he was peaceful, and his influence on their society was technological, perhaps his Blessing would be technological in nature as well. As for his Curses though, it was hard to gauge what outcome a reflection would have.
Would it restrict his vices? His wants? Or would it be a Vow for something that is related to his actions whenever he activates his Blessing?
Perhaps it might even create a weakness out of nowhere.
With these thoughts in mind, Magnus considered his options. What kind of thing could he do? What shall he perform?
Thus,
"I can say for sure that annihilating them is currently beyond my capabilities, even if I can somehow assimilate an expert into the Hivemind," Magnus spoke to himself as he strolled along the underground city streets.
"I just don't have enough manpower to kill every human being in this world. I haven't even explored it all yet."
Magnus lamented that he might not be able to get a calamity-inducing Blessing. It would have been fun to enjoy such a scene while he battled things out with nature itself.
The most he could get so far was something based on assassination and stealth. That was what he'd been doing all along, after all.
Hiding, running, and then killing a target. There was even a pinch of interrogation added to his history.
"I guess, if I get a Blessing that helps me with staying under the radar, it would be good enough. I still have to deal with those truthseekers in the future, after all."
On another note, Magnus now found out what the Scroll meant by "Natives who just started building up their civilization." It was clearly rating it on a whole different standard.
Magnus had thought that it meant Stone Age humans. Not Medival Era humans.