Serum

Dirk ran for another two days. 

The first day got a bit easier. Dirk actually didn't use up the rest of his potion. Thanks to his elemental sonar, his dark mana vision, his improving stealth, his pistol Stigma, and his sharpening reflexes, he was able to avoid more death and injury. 

Not only that, but he remembered another ability he had gained upon completing blood destruction. He could use Aura, a power that gave his fists vast destructive power.

Dirk didn't find too much use for this though. Most of the strong monsters he found were too tough to be wounded by his weak attacks or too dangerous to even approach. He was mostly defending, and any attacks he did send out were mostly ways to distract and divert, allowing him to escape. Dirk couldn't get into head on fights and let his wounds build up, even though he had decided to play more aggressive. 

But it was still a tool that he could utilize when the situation called for it. It allowed Dirk to break through many barriers and kill bugs using something other than fire. He liked using it on mosquitoes, especially. 

It was another tool that, although not used often, gave him yet another edge. And with his accumulating techniques and skills, Dirk found himself finding a way out of the Jungle of Death. 

The first thing he started to notice was the lack of obscenely strong monsters, like the steroid bear. In fact, he didn't see any the entire second day. 

The second thing he noticed was the change in foliage. Gone were all the poison spewing and man-eating plants. Dirk began to see berry bushes and fruit trees. There was thinner grass, fewer vines, shorter trees, not as much mud, clearer water, and all around brighter scenery. 

In these places, Dirk found animals like wolves, deer, small birds, smaller bears, much smaller bugs, and no frog armies. 

He saw many enemies, but now, all of them were enemies he could safely fight. In reasonable amounts, of course. At one point, Dirk got swarmed by a pack of 60 wolves in the middle of the night. That had been a rude wake up call. 

But he got out of it. Even 60 wolves were reasonable compared to a steroid bear. Dirk could actually wound and kill them. 

Like that, he found himself nearing signs of civilization at the end of the second day. It was a good thing too because he had just gone through the rest of his potion. 

Like that, he was brought to the third day. On this day, Dirk disregarded any and all enemies as he rushed forward, following the signs of civilization. And by noon, he emerged. 

.......

The frontier city of Calaba.

Due to it being on the edges of what Dirk called the Jungle of Death, it was a mix between a city and a stronghold. It didn't look super appealing unless one liked the fortress aesthetic. 

Nonetheless, it was incredibly popular and had a booming economy. There were four reasons for this. 

The first was actually due to the Jungle of Death right beside it. Because of the plentiful source of monsters and animals right next door, the city had a large mercenary and hunter presence that lived off of killing and gathering biological resources. The meat industry in this city was booming.

The second was the fact of a mine being near this city. Thus, there were many miners that provided a steady source of income and resources. The material processing industry was also booming. 

The third reason was due to a dungeon being inside of the city. And not just any dungeon, but a major dungeon that was a step above what Dirk had fought in. This attracted a small but powerful dungeon diver population. And the more powerful the fighter, the richer they were. Heaps of wealth were moved whenever they made transactions. 

Finally, one of the biggest reasons for this city's prosperity was its location. This city was located eastern border of the Horizon Empire. And next to the Horizon Empire was the Dwarven Haven. If one went above the Jungle of Death and traced its outskirts, they would eventually find themselves entering Dwarven territory. 

The Dwarven Haven and Horizon Empire traded often, both diplomatically and commercially. In fact, the two empires had a fantastic standing with each other due to all this trade. It boosted both their economies. 

And a large amount of this trade funneled right through the frontier city of Calaba. 

This city seemed to have everything. The only downside was the fact that this city needed to maintain a standing army and be able to defend against tides of monsters from the Jungle of Death. 

Either way, this city was massive and rich. 

So when it was approached by a boy covered in blood, mud, and vines, it naturally raised its alert. 

.......

Dirk exited the jungle and entered a wide open clearing where there were no trees or plants, only grass. 

And in the distance he spotted the city of Calaba. It had walls that were 50 meters tall and extended left and right for nearly 5 miles. Buildings even taller than the walls towered from within the strong defenses. They got gradually taller until they reached the center where there was a 500 meter tall palace. The palace actually had objects floating in and out of it, though Dirk couldn't make out what they were. 

In fact, the only reason Dirk was able to see any of this magnificent view was due to his dark mana vision that created black and white images based on light. It was generally hit or miss with the accuracy, but Dirk got the gist. 

"This city is huge. I'm surprised steroid bears haven't destroyed it yet."

Dirk said that as he walked toward the huge walls. There were about 500 meters of grassland between the edge of the forest and the walls, so Dirk stuck out as he approached. 

After getting closer and letting out some elemental pulses, Dirk was able to find the gates to the city. The gates were naturally huge, and there was a long line of wagons and people flowing in.

But Dirk didn't plan to enter the normal way. He didn't forget that Asura was probably looking for him, so he couldn't attract attention. Thus, his brain warmed up a little as he thought of a way in. 

.......

"Ah, damn! The hell is that smell?! Which one of you are letting your cheeks puff?!"

"Not me boss!"

"It was definitely Jeremy!"

"Hah! Mine don't smell this nice!"

A dwarf waved his hand as an odor suddenly washed over his group. They were rolling in a wagon up to the gates, eventually getting stopped by the guards. 

"ID check please."

"Right here."

The head dwarf pulled out a card when requested. The guard had an orb in his hand, and he inserted the card into the orb. When it glowed green, he took it out and handed it back. 

"All good. Are you transporting any goods that are on the list of illegal contraband?"

"As if I would tell you!"

"Sure, sure."

The guard just let out a breath at the dwarf's laugh. At the same time, a few other guards did shallow checks on the caravan before giving a thumbs up. 

"All good. Head in."

"Of course!"

Like that, the caravan rolled forward. Suddenly though, there was an alarm as some barriers suddenly raised in front of the wagon. 

"Huh?"

"Sir! There are suspicious magic fluctuations in the wagon! Dark type!"

*Shing!*

A few guards suddenly drew their swords at that moment. The head guard also narrowed his eyes at the dwarf, who hastily waved. 

"I didn't do anything! I'm not even a mage!"

"Step down!"

The dwarf was pulled off the wagon and restrained, as were all the other dwarves. Then, guards flooded into the wagons, checking every nook and cranny. 

Suddenly though, as one of the guards bent down to look under the wagon, he was kicked away. 

*Boom!*

The guard flew away from the wagon and into a wall, leaving behind cracks. Then, a body shot out from under the wagon. The head guard shouted. 

"Seize that man!"

"Get him!"

The surroundings guards all rushed out as the alarms blared. Dirk, who was the culprit, gritted his teeth. 

'I hid from Asura with this stealth. Why can't it get past a security checkpoint?!'

Dirk grumbled as he dashed to the side. There was a doorway inside the walls where the guards would occasionally rest, so he made his way through there, dodging all the resting guards and shooting out into the city.

He quickly bounded with his full strength onto the roof of a building. A few guards followed, chasing him down with their full strength. 

Unfortunately, Dirk was someone who could keep his life in the presence of a steroid bear. After jumping across a couple rooftops, he slipped between buildings, through alleyways, through open windows, and weaved through crowds of people. The guards couldn't keep up with his agility, and before long, he disappeared. 

"Where'd he go?!"

"I don't know!"

"Well look harder!"

"No you look harder!"

The guards started bickering before searching around the place. 

Dirk, on the other hand, had slipped into a shop. It was a nice little fruit store, and when Dirk turned around, he saw a young woman no older than 14 years old manning the front desk. She looked at Dirk with a terrified gaze.

His body that was covered in mud and blood. The open, unhealed wounds. The dark vines tied around his arms and legs. His eyes that had horrible black cracks all over them. His 6 foot tall body. The intimidating chiseled muscles. 

This little girl couldn't help but shiver. Thinking, Dirk put his finger over his lips to tell her to be quiet. Then, he walked over to a shelf, grabbing a fruit and eating it. 

"...Oh my god..."

His head rolled back a little as he tasted the sweet juices. For over two years he had eaten slop. He hadn't tasted anything else other than blood when it pooled in his mouth. This was the first real stimulation of his taste buds in a long time.

[You didn't actually eat anything in the jungle either.]

"The potion made me not hungry."

Dirk spoke simply as he ate one fruit and grabbed another. As he said, the potion basically removed the need for food. Even in the mountain there were times when he wouldn't eat for days or weeks simply because Deliha kept whipping him during his free time. He had lived off the potion for a long time.

After eating two fruits though, Dirk eventually reigned himself in. He looked at the girl, who looked back at him with silent fear and a bit of anger. He was taking their food, after all. 

Feeling sorry, Dirk suddenly looked at his arm. On both forearms, two knives were sheathed in the vines tied around them. He unsheathed one of them and walked over to the girl. 

"...N-no!"

*Thud*

The girl stumbled backward before hearing a heavy object land on the front desk. Looking up, she saw that Dirk placed the knife on the desk. 

"I hope that's good enough for payment."

"..."

The girl was silent as Dirk turned and walked out, taking one more fruit with him. Like that, he disappeared, and the girl stared at the large, crude knife on the table that was stained with blood and bigger than her leg. 

After leaving the shop, Dirk found a tall building and climbed to the top of it. He let out a long breath as he felt a breeze blow past his body. 

"...I need to blend in."

After a while, he made his plans while taking another bite of his fruit. Dirk couldn't go walking around looking like a forest monster. He had to clean his body, get some clothes, and look normal. While he didn't have the money for clothes or a bath, he did have the skills to get those things anyway. 

"I have yet to ever steal anything in this life."

[A first time for everything.]

Spyte spoke as it appeared on Dirk's shoulder in its cat form. He chuckled and scratched its chin. Spyte apparently liked it as its chin raised itself to be scratched better. Or maybe it was just playing the part of a cat.

"Anyway, let's go make myself pretty."

Like that, Dirk jumped off the building and made his way around the city. It was a bright and sunny day, and for the first time in a while, Dirk's mood reflected that. 

........

....

After around 4 hours, Dirk had made himself presentable. 

First he found a bathhouse. It wasn't open during the middle of the day, but that only made it easier for Dirk to use its facilities without notice. He just had to avoid the owner who lived there. 

Using that, he cleaned his entire body, ridding himself of all the mud and blood. The bath that was the size of a pool had turned completely brown when he was done. 

After cleaning out his wounds and using soaps to make his skin nice and glossy, Dirk felt like a new man. He also thoroughly washed his only pair of shorts. 

At first, Dirk also wanted to dispose of the vines. But after they were soaked in the water, their skin peeled off, and Dirk saw what was inside. The vines actually had a wire-like core inside of them. Seeing that, Dirk went and skinned all the vines, exposing their cores. Then, he burned them to make their surfaces smooth and hard. With that, Dirk could keep them, not looking weird for having plants tied on his body. 

He only kept two of the vines though, one for each forearm. That way he could sheath his knife. As for the other arm, Dirk thought about throwing away the extra vine, but then he saw the large metal tattoo with a big number 8. This was the Harbinger mark that Dirk was given, a permanent brand on his body that had never come off. Dirk decided that he didn't want to go waving it around, so he kept another vine to cover it.

Like that, Dirk exited the bathhouse and found himself a nice clothing shop. It was at this point that Dirk could only apologize to the owner silently. He didn't want to give away his other knife, but he still needed clothes. 

So using his stealth, Dirk was able to hide in plain sight. He then found himself a new pair of shorts, shoes, socks, and a shirt. By the end, he looked like a sharp young man from a well-off family, if one looked past the few exposed wounds of course. 

After that, he tied the vines to his forearms and sheathed his knife. It wasn't odd for people to walk around with all kinds of weapons since this city had tons of dungeon divers and hunters, so he wouldn't look that out of place. 

The last problem though was his eyes. The black cracks that glowed with the power of the curse would definitely freak people out and cast suspicion. So Dirk tore a piece of cloth from a garment and tied it around his head, covering up the cursed cracks. 

With that, Dirk only looked mildly suspicious as he finally entered the streets of the city openly. Since guards were still patrolling the place, he just avoided them. 

Spyte appeared on Dirk's shoulder as he walked around and sensed all the people and buildings. 

[What are your plans now?]

"Get back to the capital city. That's where the academy is and my parents are. I have to find out where I am though and how to get there. I also don't have money, though I could use my skills to maybe take up a guard position for a merchant..."

Dirk pondered. He was a stranger in a strange place. The only thing he knew was the name of this city, Calaba, and that was only because he had sensed the large sign while crossing the city gates. Other than that, he had no idea where he was. 

So he wandered for a while, pondering what he would do. At that moment though, he suddenly felt a wave of dark mana. Dirk's senses shook a bit as he turned his head. 

On the rooftop of a large building, there was a woman dressed in black. Dirk saw her, and his eyebrows raised. 

.......

Cecilia had long since arrived at the frontier city of Calaba. With her came a dozen subordinates. 

All of them were assigned jobs. Four of them were assigned to the four city gates into the city. The other eight people were told to scour the nearby jungle for people. They were to report all anomalies. 

It had been a few days since she did this, and with each passing hour, Cecilia got more and more anxious. 

That was, until one of her people came running back to her. 

"Madam."

"Speak."

"The east gate. There was a commotion when a suspicious person was caught by our special dark mana detectors. They ran off and escaped the pursuing guards not long after being spotted."

"What did they look like?"

Cecilia suddenly stood from her seat with seriousness. The man hastily spoke. 

"Tall, completely covered in mud, and they smelled. He skillfully evaded capture, so we don't know where he is."

"I understand. Assign patrols to look. I'm also going."

Saying that, Cecilia almost ran out of the building, disappearing to the east gate. The man also ran out, going to give orders. 

After that, Cecilia scoured the city around the east gate for hours. She didn't find anybody at the edges near the walls, so she gradually made her way deeper in. She sent out waves of dark mana to scan everyone in the vicinity, constantly going from area to area. 

For a while, her hope that had spiked began to go down. But then, the fourth hour came. 

Cecilia let out a wave of dark mana from atop a roof. The people in the vicinity felt something faint, but generally disregarded the odd chill that washed over them.

For a minute, Cecilia stood still. She processed the information she received, simultaneously looking around at everybody. 

But then, she was interrupted. She turned as a young man jumped onto her same roof. She froze. 

The young man looked at her. To Cecilia, he might as well be a stranger. He didn't look like her son, that little 13 year old boy. 

But she could feel it. Perhaps it was her motherly instinct, or the sharp jawline. But she immediately knew. 

"Dirk?"

She barely spoke, her voice already cracking under emotion. 

Dirk smiled back at his mother, someone who he had longed to see for a really long time.

"Hi mom."