Alister looked at the startled group, sword still in hand.
"Alister, what are you yelling about?"
Olivia asked.
Alister couldn't form a sentence, he just basically showed all of them his aspect. But it was even worse, it was one of his Lineage Abilities.
Well, how do I get myself out of this mess?
"I guess there is no hiding it now, I was using one of my abilities. An enchanting ability to be specific."
The group stared at the newly evolved weapon, which has changed design.
The blade: A long, tapering blade made of a translucent, icy material. Embedded within the ice are threads of red metal, creating a striking contrast.
The hilt: A sleek, minimalist design made of a smooth, obsidian-like material. The pommel is a small, fiery sphere that a coral red.
The sword changed from a sleek and simple straight sword, to a beautiful red and blue long sword. Which intrigued Alister even more.
So an enchantment can change the design of the weapon, how very interesting.
Alister's chest started to fill with passion once again.
"Alister!"
Olivia shouted, waking Alister from his stupor.
He turned his eyes from the sword to them.
"Sorry, I was caught up in the beauty of the sword. Anyways, do you have my essence cores?"
Alister questioned.
"Umm, yeah here."
Olivia held out her hand to Alister, which he took.
She transferred the nine essence cores to him, directly from her inventory straight to his.
The ivory haired boy stood up, but a voice spoke up, stopping him.
"No, lay back down. You're still injured from the carving."
It was Quinn's soft voice.
Alister paused for a couple seconds, then raised a brow in confusion.
"Hmm? What do you mean? I feel fine."
Alister stood up and turned his back to them, then lifted up his ripped shirt. The wounds were gone and left in their stead were just the scars. What would've taken a normal person weeks to heal from and months for the cuts to scar, took Alister only a single day.
Did the essence from the core stimulate the healing properties of my body?
Alister theorized.
"That's impossible. Let me get a closer look."
Quinn got closer and started feeling the names scared at the ivory haired boy's back. Her fingers traced every letter of every name that was carved into his back, gently tracing for a couple seconds to make sure her eyes weren't lying to her.
They weren't.
Every part of Alister's body was healed.
Quinn seemed extremely confused.
Alister, on the other hand, seemed happy.
"I think it's time to go hunting, I want to try out this new sword too."
Alister exclaimed.
"Well some people need to stay here to watch the shelter, dumbass."
Olivia stated, with some noticeable anger in her angelic voice.
Alister was oblivious as to why Olivia was angry. Most likely because one of the strongest group members, only a day after recovering, wants to get into more danger.
Alister stared at the sun-kissed girl guiltily.
"Umm, ok then. Gabriel, you're coming with me."
Gabriel looked at him with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.
"But…But um."
Gabriel stuttered over his word. Trying to find a reason to get out of going with Alister.
"No buts, you're the only defensive type left in the group. So you need to get stronger to protect the weaker members on our team. As well as the others we might encounter in the future, potential allies or enemies. You don't want to go through what you did on the first night again, do you?"
Alister questioned the tall, sturdy boy.
Gabriel's eyes widened at the sudden remembrance of the event.
He remembered the cries, the blood, the screaming. Never did Gabriel want to go through something like that again.
The tall, sturdy boy steeled himself, then spoke in a confident voice:
"No, never."
Gabriel kept his answer short and simple. But it perfectly conveyed his thoughts.
With that, Alister stood up with his sword in hand, he summoned the [Mistgray Chestplate].
The [Mistgray Chestplate] materialized around his chest. The chestplate had a silvery-gray hue, the chest piece shimmers subtly in the light, almost as if it's cloaked in a perpetual veil of mist. The surface is smooth and sleek, with delicate, swirling patterns etched into the metal, resembling wisps of fog caught in a gentle breeze.
***
Alister and Gabriel started their march into the Azure Forest, the trees seemed to talk. The wind was their voice.
The grove of trees, their trunks painted a deep, midnight hue, stood tall and proud. Their leaves, a vibrant azure, shimmered in the sunlight, casting dancing shadows on the forest floor. The wind, a playful spirit, whispered through their branches, creating a symphony of sound.
The trees swayed gently, their azure leaves rustling together, as if engaged in a secret conversation. The wind carried their whispers, their secrets, their stories, far and wide. It was as if the trees were living, breathing beings, their voices carried on the wind, a testament to the interconnections of all things.
Gabriel broke the silence:
"This place is so eerie, I can never get a calm thought. I always feel like I have my guard up."
"That's good, it's an instinct all humans have. Keeps us in fear to keep us alive."
Alister replied.
A couple minutes passed, then Gabriel spoke again:
"So how many Corrupted do we plan on fighting Alister?"
"Not fighting, Gabriel, Hunting. We are the hunters in this situation, they are prey. Mentality is a key in hunting. You kill them or they kill you, but we have the advantage when it comes to fighting. We have aspects, abilities, we are blessed with the system."
Alister spoke in an uncharacteristic tone for someone like Alister. His tone was animistic, savage and instinctive.
It was clear that the Corrupted Realm changed Alister, but no one knows if it was for the better. He went from an indifferent, stoic teenager, to battle hungry hunter.
As if to answer Alister's speech, four Corrupted walked their way.
They were small, reptilian Corrupted about the size of a large dog. Their bodies are covered in dark green, leathery scales that blend seamlessly with the forest floor. They have four muscular legs with sharp, retractable claws designed for burrowing through the underbrush. They're heads are slightly elongated, with glowing yellow eyes. They're most distinguishing feature is its mouth filled with rows of needle-like teeth, which constantly drip with a sticky, sap-like substance.
Alister's eyes focused on them and a system screen appeared, displaying the Corrupted status:
Name: Verdant Gnawler
Rank: Dormant
Essence Core: 6 Cores
Alister scoffed at the Corrupted.
"Well Gabriel, two each?"
Gabriel looked at Alister hesitantly, but nodded.
Gabriel summoned his shield and ax and launched himself forward with Alister, they each separated the four Dormant Corrupted into two groups of two.
Alister didn't have much trouble fighting the two Corrupted, his new enchanted sword made it easier. The ice froze the legs of one of them, keeping it in place while Alister fought the other one.
The flames swirled in spirals from the sword as Alister fought with the Corrupted, he fought instinctively, without any practice of the sword. The Aetherbound legacy Clan did not believe in practicing or training, you get your training in combat. You forge your own weapons art/skill/technique in combat, this is how the Aetherbound legacy clan made they're name known among the others legacy clans.
Alister fought instinctively, without a style, like a beast. He swung the red and blue sword recklessly, but for a mere Dormant Corrupted, that was enough. After the fire burned the body, face, legs and damn near all of the Corrupted, Alister figured that was enough playing around and just killed the Corrupted.
[You have slain an Dormant Corrupted: Verdant Gnawler].
Then he walked up to the Corrupted stuck in ice and killed it in a single blow.
[You have slain an Dormant Corrupted: Verdant Gnawler].
Alister walked to both corpses, cutting them open and taking the twelve total essence cores from the corpses and transferred them to his inventory. He pulled the Corrupted's bodies together and stacked them, then sat on top of them. Watching over Gabriel as he fought and fought he did.
He already had one of the Corrupted injured, the right hind leg of one of them was already severed, most likely from that giant ax he wielded. Although he fought well, he lacked offense, all he did was block.
"Hit them with your shield, you behemoth!"
Alister yelled to Gabriel.
Gabriel looked over at Alister, who was sitting on the two Corrupted. To which he widened his eyes, not expecting Alister would dispatch the two so fast.
Alister was an anomaly, not only was he blessed by a god, he was blessed again with the abilities of a Primordial Outer God.
Gabriel on the other hand was normal, although he did have a decent amount of talent. He still struggled against the Corrupted, just like most people would. But Alister saw something amazing in Gabriel, maybe it was instinctual, maybe it was his aspect at work, but he knew something was there.
Once again Alister yelled at Gabriel from the corpse of the Corrupted he sat on.
"Hit. Them. With. Your. Shield!"
Then Gabriel finally did as Alister told him. He slammed his shield against the ground and activated an ability of his and slammed his shield against the uninjured Corrupted, making it fly back and giving it the status effect: [Stun]. Which rendered the Corrupted immobile for thirty seconds.
Gabriel rushed forward, shield in front of him and brought his large ax down and killed the Corrupted with severed hind legs, breaking the earth under it. Then dashing once more at the stunned Corrupted and killed it in the same fashion.
Alister from the Corrupted he sat on, smiled.
You truly are something special, Gabriel.