Chương 197: The Spy

Use Trait Evolution Token on Cursed Aura? Yes/No Yes. Bring it on. The System energy flooded me again, this time encompassing all of me, and more. I felt it much more than before, and while I was able to resist it previously, now it directly infused into my aura. ──────────────────────── Synergy Detected Indomitable Spirit, Curse-Born Resilience, Hexer's Touch, Curse Absorption, Feast on the Ruined, Aural Manifestation are aligning…

──────────────────────── With my improved Willpower stat, I was capable of sensing it so clearly. It followed the flow of my aura and, with it, started touching the skills and traits that resonated with it. I didn't understand why the resonance happened with those while not with others. Aura Tether was another aura skill that could have been in the list, along with Virulent Hex, but it wasn't. ──────────────────────── Alert!

Multiple Achievements Detected Profane Substitution, Dreadful Gaze, Soul Delver, Curse Denier, Genesis of Damnation, Butcher, Perfected Being, Profane Execution, Apex Slayer and user preferences are being analyzed. ──────────────────────── Again, why those achievements in particular? Well, some I could understand, but I had many more: Paragon of Transcendence, Defiance of Tiers… but those weren't considered for this upgrade in particular. Contrary to the attribute evolution, here I was a passenger.

There was no way for me to interact with the process, despite trying my best. It was like grasping smoke. But I could feel the changes: my aura was changing, compressing, assimilating. The fragments of the curses present in my aura were dissolving more thoroughly, but not disappearing. No, they were actually getting absorbed, turned into nourishment for my aura. The smoky grey substance grew thicker, darker, more voracious. I could feel it. It was like a slumbering beast that had now awakened, and it was hungry.

Its touch would bring terror to any who dared face it. Ding! ──────────────────────── Trait evolution complete! Cursed Aura evolved into: Aura of the Fell Eclipse The curses within you have merged into a dreadful aura, weakening and absorbing curses while eroding surrounding magical effects to reinforce itself. Increases curse potency and reduces the effectiveness of hostile magic. Targets exposed to the aura experience elevated fear and mental pressure.

──────────────────────── I took a deep breath, I could breathe easier. Yes, it wasn't my imagination. Despite my state of exhaustion and the bracelet limiting me, my aura was much stronger now. It cleansed the previous curses I absorbed with Curse Absorption perfectly. It felt so much more powerful. I should be really, really careful now not to infuse it with my eyes and look at somebody directly. Or… should I? It could be a good motivator to light a fire under some people's asses.

I rose from my sitting position, the motion straining my body, despite having more than double the stats I had before the tutorial started. A series of pops sounded from my bones as I stretched. Better. Now let's see… I roused my aura, the little that had regenerated since my attribute evolution at least. It seeped out of me and surrounded me like a silvery dark curtain. Everything it touched lost its colors, seemingly becoming a twisted version of itself.

Even the stone floor wasn't spared, the nooks and crannies of the room looked ready to spew out some dreadful monster… Aura of the Fell Eclipse, an apt name. Now it was time to test these new abilities of mine, and maybe to evolve a couple of skills. There was no reason to limit my growth so much anymore. I had achieved most of what I desired in terms of development already. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. It was time to reap the rewards.

I would need all the strength I could get for facing Adrian properly, and a good plan. I wondered, what if I could go back to the start like he did… what would I do? Mmm… food for thought. ──────────── Quinn P. O. V.

"Did you see them today? Fucking bunch of misfits, I tell you. How did they even manage to get a Guild this early?" a girl in a mage robe said.

"If it wasn't for Adrian giving them the method in that letter, that fellow couldn't have managed it at all," another of Adrian's party said, a guy who dual-wielded longswords of all things. Knives were totally better, he was slow, what was the point of dual-wielding if you could swing faster with a single blade? Noob. I was following them while they came back from a hunt. Adrian wasn't here, of course. I trusted Elias, if he said he would get me, I believed him.

After all, he could spot me, someone stronger would just have an easier time, but damn if I didn't want to try… Focus, focus! I was a ghost, I was invisible, in… soundable? Impossible to hear… I was death! Jokes aside, if I wanted to kill this bunch, I could totally do it, not that I really wanted to… I wasn't a murderer, of people at least. Monsters? That was another matter. But staying silent after hearing them shit on us so much was fucking frustrating! I wanted to show them that we were better, and we were!

I mean, these guys got handpicked and fed information nearly from day one. They got the great Hero of Humanity to wipe their butts and fatten them up nicely. Well, they were competent in what they did, I couldn't really say no, even if I wanted to, especially that mage, Will or something. That guy was a real mage… I saw him weaving magic around and casting a fuckton of different spells, from detecting enemies to casting elemental spells. That entombment spell was a menace. How did you fight that directly?

A physical fighter was done for against him, well, if they didn't approach very, very fast, something I could do. But even then, he had a shield around him at all times, and some spells pre-cast in that magic tome of his… I was a tad envious… maybe… but I could still kill him easily, so that was that. Especially with my new babies here. I looked at my hips for the thousandth time today. My new knives, courtesy of Elias, were now free of any curse, and would cost nearly 200k if they weren't cursed.

The pair was not only beautiful, but absolutely deadly. One was capable of slicing through magic defenses like cutting air, the other could bypass a big chunk of armor. If it was only that, though, it wouldn't have been worth this much. No, they resolved one of my greatest weaknesses: range. The blade in contact with flesh would extend and… Fuck, what was that?

"I said there's somebody around here!" said Liam, the group archer, or ranger more probably. The mage rolled his eyes.

"And I'm telling you that with my spell, I'm not getting anything. Maybe your senses got confused or something, but my spells don't lie."

"Fuck you and your spells! I'm telling you there is something around here, watching us!" The big fat guy interjected before the discussion could become more heated.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Point me toward the monster and I'll smash it. I didn't get to fight that much today with all you scaredy cats attacking from afar."

"I don't know exactly, but I feel it's in that direction." The ranger said while pointing slightly to my left, but very close to me. Damn, how? I was, like, super stealthy. I wasn't even looking at them directly to avoid triggering skills that felt the looks of a predator, and there were many of those. I checked.

"Okay, leave it to me!"

"Don't, Boz, we need to stay in formation, you know that!" said the annoying girl in mage robes. Her staff was ready to bonk the big man in the head, but he caught it without even looking, probably because it was a common occurrence.

"Oh, c'mon, July, let me have some fun!" complained the big man.

"Today is leveling day for us, don't start. You know the rules!"

"Fine, fine, killjoy…" I started retreating. I would take the long way back, maybe hunting a couple of monsters in the meantime. I already got a lot today, Elias would be happy, and I didn't really want to go back so soon. Melissa was furious, she wanted to go shopping and sightseeing. Sightseeing! In the tutorial! Girls have no idea how the world worked, for real. Even the others spent this day resting, drinking, or just wandering the city, but I knew better.

Elias too understood, this was a tutorial, and if this was the tutorial, what awaited us outside was much, much worse. We couldn't slack off, I wouldn't. Not that I would burn myself out too, but I would improve every day and get all the achievements I could. Now was the time to hit the proverbial iron when it was hot, not to let it cool. Damn, I was getting good with words. I knew it, staying with Elias was the better choice. The guy was a real bro, despite his stiff manners and composed attitude.

But I felt there was something holding him back. If I was in his position, I would have done things differently, especially with the dead weights. At least today he put them in their place, but I had a feeling… I didn't know what it was, but things were going to change in the Guild. I was sure of it. I just hoped it was bound to happen sooner rather than later. I wanted those sweet Guild bonuses, and every player knew that those were very valuable in the long run. And I wasn't any ordinary player.

I was a ghost, I was death. You have killed a Havrik's Beast Lv 87 I extracted my knife from the lumbering rhino-like beast before it even fell, its plates not enough to stop my new weapon. I touched the ground without a sound. The stat increase was absolutely incredible, and I was just starting to see the benefits. I would forgive Elias for telling me so late just because, without him, I wouldn't have been able to get it, and I wouldn't have been able to gain so many points so quickly.

I was dashing from beast to beast, invisible and killing them in a single strike. The points were flowing, and in another couple of days I would be able to get another batch of fruits. I felt I wasn't still totally full, and I wanted all the boost I could get. After that, I would get that cursed cloak I saw in the shop. Damn, that would make me unstoppable. But first… who's that? A black blur was approaching, jumping from shadow to shadow towards Adrian's group in the distance.

I was still invisible, so I wasn't scared of them looking at me. I used a binocular to see better. I got a glimpse of it while in between jumps. Was that a fucking ninja? No fucking way, that's so cool… if I wasn't going more towards a rogue look, I would have totally taken that direction. The ninja stopped to talk with the mage guy, then they started walking together back towards the city, but I couldn't hear what they said. Elias was right, there was a spy around us, and I just saw it.

Pity I was too far away to mark them, but I would get you. Oh yea, I would. Just wait.