Born in Blood



Three hours passed since the group left the underground. 

They all wore large black cloaks that shrouded their bodies and hid the tattoos on their skin.

They chose to leave during the night. The silver moon strung high above, and the air carried a cold gust of wind.

That meant that there were more Spirit Beasts compared to before, but lesser martial artists and surveillance surrounding them.

Despite the earlier seriousness that radiated from the group, Liam quickly figured out their personalities.

Oro was the jokey type. 

His jokes were cringe, but they helped relieve the invisible tension hanging in the air. 

Ruth, the red-haired woman envious of Liam's element, cursed as much as she breathed.

Iris was silent most of the time, her hardened gaze sweeping the surroundings. 

Krel and Adrian were the same. They were the real 'adults' of the bunch.

Maeve, on the other hand, made constant small talk with Liam.

Instantly, Liam realized how perverted of a person she was.

Most of her questions were related to women, and at one point, Liam wanted to cut her tongue off.

Liam was close to fifteen, the average adult age in Echoria. 

The same standards applied in Ilali and basically every other region of the world.

Although Maeve had a relatively youthful and beautiful appearance, she was a lecherous old hag in reality.

'I should just transform and rip her apart right now.'

Liam heaved a sigh to calm himself, shifting his attention forward.

The deeper they went into the wilderness, the more Rank 3 Spirit Beasts grew in number. 

Worn down but severe signs here and there warned them of entering a Danger Zone, but that did little to deter them.

Passing by different magical terrains and habitats, a large, dark dungeon entrance at the foot of a towering black mountain eventually grew visible.

Instantly, Liam's instincts warned him of the danger ahead.

Liam's constricted eye scanned the closest beast thoroughly, even before the group arrived.

It was a 4 meter long lizard, lined with sharp, green, blue and yellow scales that ran from the tip of its long, spikey tail, all the way to the crown of its triangular head. 

It had muscular, claw-like protrusions on their limbs, and yellow, vertical eyes that were as still as stone. 

Not only was there a Rank 4 beast deeper inside the dungeon, hundreds of peak Rank 3's skittered this way and that way, running over and across each other within the enclosed space. Tapping and hissing noises echoed inside.

Their forked tongues were almost always licking the ground or the walls of the dungeon. Even each other at times.

Liam recognized that trait in another species of magical beast.

Tongue Lizards could monitor their prey by using their sensitive tongues to sense the slightest vibrations on the ground.

However, unlike those Tongue Lizards who were of the earth, the species in front of Liam was of the water element.

Liam passed that information onto Krel, who raised a brow in response.

"What makes you so sure?" 

"I study them," Liam responded casually. "It'll be safer if we move above the treeline and spread further apart. They'll be less wary of us, since they can't sense anything in the air."

Krel paused for a moment, then nodded firmly.

He gave out the order and gaps were created between each of the Shadows, and they began jumping between the tall trees.

Eventually, they arrived a short distance away from the dungeon entrance.

Usually, the higher ranked a magical/spirit beast was, the stronger and larger its pack was.

Naturally, they resided in areas that held the highest density of 'Ora', and they bred rapidly to raise their numbers. Most of the time, it was by order of the pack alpha.

The group unsheathed their weapons.

Krel dual-wielded sickles. Inscribed and crescent-shaped, they were coated in an acidic mixture that gave it a green sheen.

Ruth took out a giant hammer from her ring, nearly twice the length she was. The head was rectangular shaped, and made from a mixture of black and white metals.

Adrian wielded a triangular, spiked mace, the chain of which wrapped tightly around his right arm. 

It was an upper-tier Rank 2 item, covered with enhancing inscriptions that bolstered its durability and destructive qualities.

Iris held an inscribed bow, Maeve a longsword and Oro a glaive.

Liam himself took out the Rank 2 upper-tier katana he made, with a mid-tier wakizashi to pair it with. 

That garnered him a few strange looks, as they didn't know of his inscribing or forging abilities, but it wasn't the time to ask.

"We'll take care of the lower ranked lizards first. It should be okay to split and cover more ground, but if the Rank 4 comes out, instantly regroup. Ration your mental energy and save your most destructive spells. They're poisonous, so be careful not to get hit or scratched."

Krel gave stern orders for the group to abide by. Liam was to attack from a distance using his spells, and only when he was signaled to.

Everyone exchanged a knowing nod. 

There was no way the pack leader wouldn't know if its underlings were dying. 

Though, in some cases, the Rank 4 beast wouldn't come out unless the threat was severe enough to need its presence. 

Their pride of facing animals of their own strength level was just unmatched.

With narrowed eyes, Krel tightened the grip on his blades and spoke firmly:

"Let's begin."

On his mark, the Rank 3 cultivators had activated their Shadow abilities. 

They semi-blended in with the darkness and shot towards the dungeon cave with enhanced speed.

'It looks like not even they can fully immerse themselves into the shadows.'

Liam couldn't help but feel momentary jealousy, but he quickly shook his head and began running in.

He was given the far right side of the dungeon entrance to clear. 

There were dozens of Rank 3 Poison Lizards littering the grounds, though they were unmoving like statues.

Activating his Dark Wraith body paired with his first martial art form, Liam used Vanishing Steps and blinked from one side to another, hurling an Umbral Needle between each swing of his blades.

In the span of a breath, more than eight lizards had been killed.