Yes!
The word echoed. In all senses, it seemed to be the call of judgment.
…
[
Calculating Worth…
Glitch Blood Devour is now awakened for 35 minutes in this World
]
…
The heat overshadowed the stench.
Kai's figure rippled in the darkness, scaring away the shadows. There was a madness about him, and the full brunt of this madness fell on Grim.
His mouth gaped in sheer awe and fear, and he backed away, uncaring of the filth under him.
The Pokemon had fared no better. It had sensed too. Kai's all emotions came pouring out along with the scalding hotness about him.
Desire!
Hunger!
Rage and Greed!
As if poked by a primal nudge, Kai couldn't help but speak out loud. "Blood Devour!"
"Missssssss….." the Pokemon cried, half mad and half terrified. It backed away, releasing a tremendous amount of psychic vibrations.
But there was a mysterious power around Kai, emanating from his chest, absolutely terrifying Misdreavus, preventing it form using any move whatsoever.
Seeing no other option, a blue-purple hazy light burst out of the Pokemon.
In the next moment, Misdreavus disappeared, hiding itself in the gems which were around its neck before.
Kai sniggered.
"What are you doing?!" Grim roared, standing, slipping, and falling.
One twist of Kai's head and a mean look shut the man up.
Before the gems, containing the Pokemon, could shoot through the air and fly away, Kai's hand lunged at it like a snake and wrapped his fingers around it.
It was the wrap of death.
Kai had forgotten the count of people he had killed just by squeezing the air out of them like this.
Then his chest cracked, a slit opening just right of his heart. Kai felt it again.
The raw thirst for blood. Hunger at its purest form. Gluttony!
Misdreavus got forced out of the gems. "MISSSS…" it shrieked helplessly.
One moment the magical beast was letting out a soul-shaking cry.
In another, thin, black tendrils flailed out of Kai's chest and grabbed the Pokemon, instantly disintegrating it into a blood paste and crushing the magical beast so thoroughly that what left could be nothing but an essence.
Blood Essence!
Kai let out a breath as his chest closed up, drunk with power.
There were still wounds on his body and his HP was still regenerating. The moment he devoured the Pokemon, though, it hit its maximum value with an unseen, unheard, loud collision.
"Hah!" Kai moaned in pleasure. His entire body felt freshened, all hidden injuries melting away.
A gigantic, ethereal image of Misdreavus appeared behind Kai, almost overlapping with him.
And when he opened his eyes, his sclera had gone yellow, his pupils gleaming bloody red.
…
[
Blood Essence: Misdreavus
Grade: E+
Abilities: Elementary Fear Absorption (Proficiency 0%)
Skills: Pain Split (Grade: E), Shadow Ball (Grade: E+)
]
…
Kai took a breath. Deep, feeling his lungs with a mysterious feeling as if he wasn't surrounded by filth.
It entered him like the smell of warm, spiced wine.
His MP was still low. Suddenly, the MP Regeneration rate increased, letting him regain his MP at least 20% faster.
So… Kai ruminated, sensing Grim cowering by his feet. So, this is Fear…
Though the Ability only affected his MP Regeneration, Kai had a feeling that if his HP wasn't already full, then it would have been affected as well.
He again took a deep breath and let it go.
On and on, puffs after puffs, each longer than the last, he kept breathing in and out until there was no fear left.
…
[
Elementary Fear Absorption: Proficiency 1% (+1%)
]
…
Kai's eyes regained their hazel color, the Blood Essence within him going to hibernation until called upon next time.
As if followed by an instinct, he put his hand over his chest and rubbed it. He could feel it, something within him, churning unto itself, ever-hungry and ready to devour all and anything.
Kai remembered another thing that had given him such a feeling. Such endless, unquenchable thirst!
Yes, he had loved that thing as much as he had loathed it.
The Essence Bead!
But it can't be that, Kai thought, rejecting the idea as soon as it surfaced. This is my Individuality! My imprint on the Vast Cosmos! The one that was, is and will be, forever and beyond. There are similarities, yes. But the Glitch is far below the level of the Essence Bead I remember.
Kai, of all, knew what the thing his parents had made was. That wasn't some random Blood Essence devourer. That was much more complex, and there were aspects to it which even his parents had failed to find out.
If his Glitch was a Seed, then the Essence Bead was the entire World.
Then his eyes found more Notifications.
…
[
Your Title status is updated
…
Title: Poacher
Specification: Kill 10 magical beasts collectively. The magical beasts' grade must be equal to or higher than Contestant's equivalent floor number
Status: (2/10)
Effect: Agility +1, Perception +1, Charisma -2
]
…
Kai approached Grim.
After losing all his fear, the man had gained an absolutely lost expression.
As Kai stepped towards him in the darkness, a touch of horror and awe resurfaced on his cheeks, making him crawl away, his hands slipping off the filth.
"Take out all your Items," Kai commanded.
Grim did as he was told like a puppet.
There was only a Mass-produced Dagger in his Inventory other than the Pokeball. Then he took an enormous wooden box out of his MRB full of rations. Toothbrush. Food and toilet papers. A few antidotes, masks, and…
"Condoms?!" Kai amusingly asked, raising an eyebrow.
Grim was too stunned to answer, his hands shaking as he emptied the box.
With a flick, Kai took out his saber. He smashed it on the Dagger two times and broke it. Kai had learned his lesson last time. He would never trust his Luck again, not for the Loot.
"Mercy, oh…" Grim muttered. But his death was inevitable.
To hear him plead and wait any longer would have meant toying with his prey. Kai never enjoyed that feeling, unless he had a grudge against the opposite party.
So, in two slashes, he beheaded Grim too.
…
[
You have killed 1 Order's Contestant
]
…
There was no treasure chest hologram. No option to choose remuneration.
Kai had made sure Grim had died with only one Item. His loot…
The Pokeball!
*
*
Midnight approached without banners.
The dark sky was littered with twinkling stars. A thin outline of the moon must have come and gone for Kai didn't find it anywhere. There was a salty light breeze over the hill, dancing its way through the Red Keep's lofty towers.
After killing Grim, and storing the newly gained Item, Kai hadn't lingered long in the sewers.
I hope I am not late, he thought. Those bastards delayed me.
Kai cursed them, but there was a smile on his face too.
His unexpected encounter had given Kai many gifts. Foremost, it was the Blood Essence of a Magical Beast. Then there was the Pokeball.
Last, but not the least, was the Title - Murderer.
With the death of two Contestants under Kai's hands, it had returned, showcasing Status of 2/10 for now. To make it equippable, one needed to kill 10 Contestants in a single Random World.
Kai had to let go of achieving the Title in this mission, though.
There is no way I would face so many Order's Contestants, Kai had thought bitterly. Moreover, I don't have any team members to kill either.
Also, there was scarcely any foul smell about him anymore.
It would have been a blunder to present himself to the queen with the filth of sewers on him.
So Kai had taken some time to clean himself up in the nearest stable. There was plenty of water there, and none of the staff had anything special about them to notice him. With his new set of clothes and watery hair, Kai looked like a freshly plucked white summer flower.
Suddenly, Kai's eyes landed at the colossal structure in front of him.
It was a castle-within-a-castle. A massive square fortress inside the heart of Red Keep. 12 ft thick walls covered the entire holdfast, and a dry moat lined with thorny iron pikes surrounded it.
Maegor's Holdfast!
The only way to access the holdfast was through the drawbridge which was patrolled by many knights. To go to the queen, he must cross the holdfast's outer walls first where the royal apartments were.
One must not forget that the Contestants of the 1st Set were barely a version of stronger human beings. The only thing that let them stand out from non-Contestants were Skills and Abilities.
That's why, going over the Holdfast's walls was no easy task.
It was especially so with the looming threat of Abnormality Limiter. If someone were to spy a Contestant levitating or flying even an inch over the grounds, then the consequences could be disastrous.
But what could have become the most dangerous and arduous task for others, became a child's play for Kai.
He had always prioritized infiltration and escapes from heavily defended places even in his previous life where the walls were so high that the entire Red Keep would look like an ant in front of them.
Then, he had the Blood Essence of Giant Red Serpent backing him up.
Now, with Kai's Abilities, reaching the royal apartments without letting anyone see him was as simple as turning over his hand. Not to mention, the System itself had mentioned that there was no Magic in this place. So there couldn't be any magical trap waiting for Kai, too.
He would just need to climb the Holdfast's wall, which was rough enough for him to do so, and then cross the 10 ft wide Patrol Path where scores of guards were patrolling constantly.
Kai eyed the dark silhouettes and narrowed his eyes. I need… he thought, his chest burning up. I need a distraction.
Come forth…
An ethereal image of a bluish Magical Beast appeared behind Kai before overlapping with him.
Sweat evaporated, blurring Kai's figure. His hazel eyes became bloody red, and the white sclera became murky yellow.
… Misdreavus!