Chapter 83: Recuperate

<Big sis....Big  sis.... APOLLINARIS! >

My eyes snapped open to see a wrinkled, mummified face staring into my soul. Just what-

<Big sis. You need to get up!>  the little one yelled. Why is he so loud? Can't he tell I've just woken up, and besides, I have much bigger I've kinda got bigger things on my mind? Just how did I get here? Did I do this? If so, how did i-

<Big sis. Please!>

Alright, alright! I get it! I tried to pull away from the mummified face, but I was stuck. My jaw was clamped like a vice into the mummy's neck

<Big sis! We need to hurry. It’s not safe!>

<I’m-mmph tryingmmmphhhh> I pulled my jaw harder and harder.

*crack*

Hahaha, I’m doing it! Something coming lo-

*Riiiiiiiiipppppp*

“THAT.... IS.....HARDCORE! GIVE ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR KUSAMURE. SHE TRULY IS A DEMON”

Dammit! this is not what I wanted! Blood gushed onto my mask from the stump where the head was attached. Just how did I take the head with me?! This is so infuriating! I grabbed the head with my hands and pushed it away as I pulled my jaw the opposite way. Slowly, I felt something dislodge until finally, there was one last ripping sound as my jaw finally came loose

<just what’s going->

< I'll explain later. You weren’t out for long, around 2 minutes. Big sis, we can’t stay here. More people will be coming. I've seen some people scour the area for us>

I nodded. I had so many questions, but this wasn’t the place to answer them. I need to find a place to recover. I took a single step forward, and as soon as my foot touched the ground, pain shot through my entire body.

<Aaaaaaghhhhhhaaaa that’s not nice…..>

<Big sis. You are still badly injured. Be careful.>

<Do you know any places I can recover, little one?>

<I think so. It’s a bit away from here, big sis.>

<It’s fine. Take me.>

The little one flew out of the room as I took a moment to scan the room.  I was in a blown up part of an upstairs bedroom.

<What a mess…> I walked over to the large gaping hole where the wall was. The little one was waiting for me eagerly. I lept out of the hole and skidded down the mound of debris and rubble.

<LOOKS LIKE KUSAMURE IS ON THE MOVE FOLKS. OUR HERO IS STILL GOING STRONG>

Just tell everyone I'm still alive dickhead.

<well, if we were looking for motivation to move, that’s it. let's foot it>

< Yes, big sis. But are you okay? Your injuries->

< I'll have bigger problems than my injuries soon if we are still here 5 minutes from now>

The little one nodded and picked up the pace. I ran next to him, sending pain through my body with each step. Every step caused the burnt skin on my arms to crackle and break, sending pain through every nerve of my body. But I pushed through, and soon, we were in the clear.

<Big sis. We should stop>

I placed my hands against a wall and took several heavy breaths. It's nice that he is concerned, but I must keep going.

Pain resistance increased

Moderate -> High

Cooling wafted through my body, especially in my legs and arms. It was a bit better now but still very noticeable. If it's this bad with high pain resistance, then lord knows how awful it would be without any.

I took another step forward. We’re not far now. The little one said it’s a few streets away. This is the last push before I can-

“THIS WAY GUYS!>

“On it”

“Keep your voices down, dumbasses.”

I hid against the wall as a party of 3 walked past the alleyway I was hiding in. If they were heading in that direction, it must mean they were after me. I'll have to be careful going forward. I waited a few moments to ensure the coast was clear before darting across the street towards my destination.

As I moved, more and more people moved by me toward the area where Toerag and I battled.

<I hope a few of them kill each other. It will make my life easier.> I whispered.

<Big sis, we are very close. Do you see that building?> I peeked out the alleyway and noticed a familiar building with the window open.

<I checked earlier, and it was clear. It should be a good place to rest.>

I nodded and, without waiting, rushed towards the building and through the door. I quickly closed it and went upstairs. The building was an old abandoned house with destroyed furniture and peeling walls. There were more cobwebs in here than in an antique store.

I quietly made it upstairs and entered one of the bedrooms; the room was simple, nothing more than a rotten bed and wardrobe, some peeling wallpaper and a window that overlooked the street below; the entire room was brought together and topped off the smell of dust and mildew

<This will do>I placed my back against the wall and slid down the wall. I was exhausted at this rate; it would be a miracle if I made it out here alive, let alone win.

<Status>

NAME:

Apollinaris Laskaris: LvL 6

HEALTH: 100/900

STAMINA: 300/800

MP: 1,200/3000

POINTS: 24

RACE :

Alvearix

TITLE:

(Queen’s consort)(Mana Adept)

ATTRIBUTES:

MIND: 80

BODY:20

SOUL:15

RECOVERY: 20

MAGIC:

Nature Magic

Nature manipulation

Seedstorm barrage

Nature bubble

Water Magic

Wave Walk.

Earth Magic

Soften ground

ABILITIES:

Venomous Mycogensis<MAX>

Prolific Sporluation<Lvl 1>

Mana Sac <lvl 1>

Adaptive Composite Eyes <MAX>

Mana Lens <MAX>

Mana absorbtion probes <MAX>

Burning Hatred <MAX> (NEW)

Resistances

Pain resistance (High)

Cold Resistance (High)

Heat Resistance ( low)

Subordinates

MISC

ABILITY

SHOP

Huh, I've gained two levels. It must have been from killing Toerag and the other 2. But I don’t remember any notification appearing. Honestly, there is a lot I don’t remember. I remember killing Toerag, and then I was attacked. I killed one of them instantly, and the other I…. bit? On the neck?... Why did i?.... I looked at my status and scanned through the status and noticed that my mana had gone up from practically nothing to 1,200. Could it be I used….

Mana absorbtion probes

Mana is a valuable resource, so it's best to keep it replenished. What better way to replenish it than to take it from others?

(2 sets of fangs that can probe into the Mana network of a creature and absorb into the subject)

That’s it! It's all coming back to me. Those blue lines must be the mana in that girl's body. I opened my mouth wide, and 2 sets of fangs shot up 2 from the top and 2 from the bottom. I must have been so mana-starved that my body did what felt natural. I'll have to keep this in mind. That one human gave me 1,200 MP, which is almost half of what I have currently. This is useful very useful.

I closed all the other menus except the status because there was one more thing I had to check. I looked at the status and focused on the new skill, burning hatred.

Burning Hatred

The hatred and anger you carry is a fuel for an ever-burning flame. A flame with the sole purpose of eradicating and torching everything you hate to the ground.

(The more hatred and anger you feel, the more heat is produced. Once that heat has hit a certain level, it will ignite into an eternal destructive flame. That will destroy everything in its path, even you)

Stages

(your flame will go through stages depending on how angry you are. Each stage increases the power and damage of the flame whilst also unlocking additional abilities)

Stage 0 Calm

No flame active

Stage 1. Smouldering Resentment

Flame active, basic flame manipulation

Stage 2

Flame strength Doubled, physical Strength multiplied 5x

Stage 3

?????

Stage 4

?????

Stage 5

?????

<So that explains>

I looked towards my hands. Burn marks covered them from top to bottom. This ability is a double-edged sword. And it has 5 stages. If stage 2 is that powerful, then what the hell is stage 5.

If I'm not careful…. This ability could kill me, but the power it gives. It is just too much to ignore. I'll need to find a way to-

*Creek*

The menus dropped instantly. Is someone here? How could I have been found so quickly? Was I seen? No, I couldn't have been; the little one, and I were careful

*Creek*

I followed the noise it was coming from….Inside this room? But how nobody is…. Unless.

I placed my hands on the wooden floorboards. I hope this ability works on wood. <Soften Terrain> A pulse of green mana washed across the floor. i waited and watched. Soon, the wood began to react to the magic. Parts of the floor around the wardrobe and bed began to sink unnaturally. I scanned the room, looking for anything that stood out. I scanned the edge of the room, where I noticed footprints sank into the ground like footprints in wet sand.

<There you are.>

In a flash, I lunged forward towards the footprints. As I moved, pain shot through my arm as a blade of mana formed, but I pushed through. I'm too low on health; I need to end this fast. Suddenly, the wall where the footprints were rippled and warped.

“NO, PLEASE DON’T!” A voice cried out as the rippling faded, revealing a small, timid Girl. My feet planted into the ground, and my arm swung into the wall, carving a deep grove that stopped just by her neck.

The girl let out a choked cry as she looked up at me in fear. Like she had just seen a demon

“you… that face… You are a pure spirit, aren't you.”

“*sob* Please, I don’t want-“

“shut the hell up!”

The air suddenly jumped up in temperature, dammit! I have to keep a level head; I can't afford to use that fire again!

I glared at the girl who had shrunk away from me. I recognised her. She was the girl following the toe rag. She disappeared at the start of our fight, but she must have been hiding here the whole time, the pitiful, disgusting creature.

“Please…..*sob* I don’t wanna be here. *Sob*”

“If that’s the case. I'll do you a favour and cut you down right now!”

“NO, PLEASE DON’T. HE FORCED ME. I WAS-” My arm blade moved, burying itself deep into her shoulder. She opened her mouth to scream, but I quickly slammed my arm around her throat.

“do not DARE! To try and get sympathy from me! Your kind has never EVER shown that to me or my mother! At every opportunity, you pure spirits have gone out of your way to make my life hell! You can not begin to understand the pain… misery and loss I've suffered because of you people!”

The heat around kept on increasing. Dammit! I can't keep calm around these people. Let's just kill her and be done with it. I pulled the blade out and put it next to her heart. Her eyes bulged, and she started flailing her body around like a rat that had been caught; comparing a pure spirit to a rat is an insult to the rats.

<Big sis. I think she is trying to say something. Maybe we should listen first; she could have information about your other targets.>

I looked towards the little one. What he said wasn’t crazy, but the idea of just listening to them speak…I shook my head. Andre said in my training that half the battle is information. I need to think clearly.

I moved my hands to the side, allowing her to breathe

“If the first thing you do is beg for your life, I will end you now. Speak.”

She glared at me. Fear in her eyes. “….Im…sorry”

“grahhHHHH!”

“NO. NO. NO., that was a mistake! Errrr ahhh.”

“GET  TO THE POINT!”

“I CAN HEAL! “ she spat out. “Look”

Suddenly, a yellow light started to glow from where I stabbed her shoulder. It was a brief glow only for a few moments before it went away, revealing unblemished skin.

“y..y...You're skin....i..i...is burned…  let me heal you; I can do that afterwards. Please just let me go.”

“Do you think I would want help from your kind?!” I squeezed her neck again, causing her to squeal. Dammit. Why did I have to meet this bitch when I'm like this?! If I didn’t have 100 hp, I would have painted the walls with her blood by now! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! DAMMMIT! Why is it never fucking simple! I just want to kill her! Is it too much to ask?!

“here’s the deal. You're mine now, do you understand? You heal me whenever I want, wherever I want, with no questions. Understand?! “

She nodded fiercely. I let go of her neck and dropped her to the ground. “One more thing. If you try ANYTHING,” I opened my mouth and revealed my fangs. “I'll rip you to shreds with my bare teeth.”

She nodded again. The fear on her face was palpable. Good. There will be plenty more of this in the future, I'm certain.

I sat down on the ground and crossed my legs.

“Get to work”