It had been playing with Leo and his group before.
But now, noticing its opponent, it looked ready to fight to death.
"A Level 1 Demon," Cayden murmured, assessing the demon's strength.
The demon charged at full strength like a mad bull.
It covered the distance of 30 meters (100 feet) within three breaths and appeared before him.
Without stopping, it swung its claw down.
Cayden moved his feet by a few inches and managed to dodge the attack completely.
In his eyes, the demon was moving at a snail's pace.
Even though he was stronger than the demon by 1 rank only, the difference was still as big as the chasm.
The ground exploded when it came in contact with the demon's attack.
Cayden used the demon's arm as a foothold.
While the demon's hand was down, he put his leg on it and jumped towards its face.
He slashed.
The blade, swift as lighting, cleaved the demon's neck.
He landed on the ground gracefully.
On his hand, the Fate Point Mark changed from 0 to 1.
He returned the sword to the sheathe and the demon's headless corpse crashed behind him.
It broke down into Cursed Energy and disappeared.
"It's a nice sword." He came to return the weapon. "I'm Cayden."
"Th-thanks for saving us. I'm Leo Hargaves from Azure Trainee Academy."
Leo, unable to comprehend what he had seen, was in a daze.
The demon, an incarnation of despair for them, was defeated so easily.
And what did he say?
Nice sword?
It was the cheapest sword!
Cayden spoke as if he won thanks to the weapon, but Leo wasn't easily fooled.
This guy…
He has opened a Spirit Node!
He is on par with our base's elites!
Who is he!?
Leo was about to take the sword when he snapped back to attention.
He shook his head.
"You can have the sword. Please help me take my friends back to the camp in exchange."
Tamir and Krohne were gravely injured.
They needed immediate medical attention.
From his words, Cayden concluded that they were part of a bigger group.
They either had an Exorcist with healing ability or they had found a Totem Pole.
Both were good news for him.
"I'll help. Let's go."
Cayden carried Tamir, who was the heavier of the two, on his back, and Leo carried Krhone.
While Leo, being injured, was having difficulty walking with Krhone, Cayden was completely fine.
He could again feel that he had grown stronger by a large margin.
They moved slowly to avoid the demons hidden in the mist.
The demon Cayden defeated was a Level 1 demon.
He got 1 Fate Point from it.
It was undoubtedly a marvelous feat for someone who had been in the demon world for just one day.
But there were dime a dozen demons who were incomparably stronger.
Cayden knew this fact.
He was not going to let a small victory get to his head.
Cautiousness was not a virtue.
It was a necessity.
While on the way, they had small talks.
Leo finally asked the question he had been meaning to ask.
"Did you reach the First Spirit Node rank already? You must have an Exorcist background in the human domain."
"I was just a normal civilian."
"Oh, okay..."
Leo nodded as if he had understood something.
Exorcist families did not like to stand out.
They kept their techniques a secret and only passed them to their descendents.
Because their secrets, if known to others, could be used against them.
To prevent such situations they rarely sent their children to Exorcist Trainee Academies and home-tutored them.
'Maybe he really comes from an Exorcist Family. Or he must have a connection to them.
'Either way, he must have a powerful breathing technique to have opened his First Spirit Node so soon! Maybe he has a bloodline too! I wonder what rank they are!'
Leo was convinced of these thoughts.
A voice appeared inside Cayden's head.
[Bragging detected!]
[Bragging Content: He must have a powerful breathing technique: 1/50]
[Bragging Content: Maybe he has a bloodline: 1/1000]
He looked at Leo with bright eyes.
Thank you for the bragging!
Let's go to your camp and have your friends brag too!
A Breathing technique allowed one to calm their mind and soul.
It increased Cursed Energy absorption speed.
It, unlike Buddha Mind, could be used by anyone, thus higher cost.
Of course, Buddha Mind was incomparably better. However, the breathing techniques had their uses.
If he could use a breathing technique with Buddha Mind, his growth speed would be extraordinary!
Bloodlines were special.
One could say Bloodline was the most important aspect of an Exorcist.
It decided an Exorcist's worth.
Only one out of a thousand Exorcists had a bloodline.
Even a Mortal-ranked Bloodline could grant powerful abilities.
The techniques and bloodline were divided into Mortal, Spirit, Demon, Rakshasa, and Immortal rank with higher ranks appearing in the later volumes.
Cayden was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.
He, just like any other Exorcist, felt the presence of the Totem Pole when he appeared in its vicinity.
"Hang on. We are almost there."
Leo's complexion brightened when he sensed the familiar presence.
As they were walking, Cayden felt he was moving through an invisible sea of foam.
He heard a pop.
The sensation of moving through foam disappeared.
They were suddenly standing in an area filled with people and devoid of mist and bone trees.
Cayden could see dozens of tents.
There were at least a hundred humans in the camp.
The people, scrawny and depressed, ignored him and Leo's group as if it was a daily occurrence.
'The camp is too big and most of them are civilians. They shouldn't have been able to gather so many people in just a day.'
Cayden, perplexed, wanted to question Leo.
However, he could only wait when Leo left and entered the inner section of the camp.
He was stopped from following Leo as he was not a member of the camp.
Soon, Leo returned with two Recovery Talisman.
He placed them on the forehead of his two injured friends.
"Phew. They should be fine now," Leo smiled. "Recovery Talismans are not the best but they work. Krohne and Tamir would be able to return to the field in a week."
His Fate Points had gone from 3 to 0.
Watching this, Cayden mused.