The Soulmancer’s Ascension

Zephyr smirked at Andreas’ submission. Frankly he respected Andreas for lasting this long against his relentless slaughter. “Now, spit everything out. Who is Goddess Alastrina? What’s her purpose? What are you doing here?”

“Goddess Alastrina… is a demigoddess who existed when the dragons and elves thrived in the realm. She sent me to investigate the ancient ruins…” Andreas said, his throat becoming increasingly dry. “Water. I need—”

He keeled over and spat a mouthful of blood, more pouring out of his mouth. The agony in his chest made his eyes bulge. He collapsed on the ground and his corpse melted in a blood puddle, dying the grass in its eerie color.

Goddess Alastrina killed Andreas for his betrayal.

Zephyr rubbed his temples. “Gosh, you motherfucker. Extract.”

The skill didn’t work as there was no soul within his field of vision. Goddess Alastrina had control over Andreas’ soul, the ability to destroy her servant’s soul from faraway.

‘A troublesome enemy.’

He didn’t worry too much about her for now. The fact that the Soulmancy could work on Andreas relieved him.

Sherine approached him with Athena. Her Yin Yang gauntlets healed Athena’s twisted talons.

“I really want to talk to you,” Zephyr said, staring into Athena’s eyes. “We’ll have a long chat after you get the ability to talk.”

“Do you want to rest?” Sherine offered. Her mind was weary after seeing his gruesome executions. “We can go to SheZe house.”

The flashy name cracked him up every time. “I’m fine. Let’s continue.”

He threw everything about Andreas and Goddess Alastrina to the back of his head. Sherine would deal with the goddess if she ever showed up. He wasn’t a god’s opponent with his current powers.

He focused on what he did best—finding and killing monsters. His resolve hardened into the sharpest spear and tore through the predators of the Red Zone. He was like a god of hell handing out deaths like ad posters.

He ran into this giant of a hyena, or rather two hyenas pieced together into one. Red eyes on the female side and green eyes on the male side. Yes, the twined hound didn’t need to mate with others. The ultimate loner magic beast.

Their tongue lolled out as they thought about the exotic human flesh. Their dripping saliva melted the grass. Acidic Saliva was one of the twined hound’s skills, the other one being the power to resurrect once every week. As long as they don’t die twice within a week, they could come back to life with full health.

Level 29, the peak of C-Rank.

Zephyr walked towards the twined with a bored expression. The twined hound splattered more acidic saliva as it haunched and pounced at him. A flash flickered, and the magic beast fell down, its body divided in two equal halves.

Last time it was Brood Slayer, and now Magic Beast Slayer. The world sure loved him for his efforts in purging the filth.

“Just ten more levels…”

Sherine looked at him with curiosity. “We should go deeper into the forest.”

Clearly, the C-Rank monsters posed no challenge to him. He may as well dive deeper into the Black Zone to find some worthy challengers and speed up the leveling process.

“I think so, yeah. I also got the Magic Beast Slayer passive skill to help with stronger monsters.”

Ten percent attack power was a lot. How did the attack power work in real life? He wouldn’t notice the difference with his eyes, but a ten percent boost had to make a big difference.

“Let’s go back for today.”

The moon had risen from the depths. It was time for a hearty meal and some lovey-dovey time with Sherine.

So retreated to his cocoon. The modern house had everything a man like him desired—a loving fiancée who cooked delicious meals, a fluffy bird to pet, games, and most importantly an air conditioner. It was heaven compared to the haunting forest.

After dinner, he played some games with Sherine in her room while Athena curiously watched them from the sidelines.

“Wait, what’s that in my library?”

“Desertopia, a couple’s adventure…” Sherine whispered, eyeing him with anticipation. “Can we play this?”

“Sure.”

He never tried these types of games since he was single. Besides, the gameplay looked fun.

Zephyr pulled Sherine into his lap, and the two began the new game. The young couple didn’t take long to get intimate. Athena quietly left the room with a sour face while things continued to escalate until she reached out for a kiss.

Sherine was older than him but her control over sexual desires was half of his. She was half a dragon, after all.

He got to enjoy some sweet bedtime with his fiancée.

***

A woman marched through old corridors, her hair draped in blood and eyes equally bloody. Her refined footwork could convince anyone about her noble lineage. In fact, she was born into an influential family within Theranhad Kingdom. A princess even if her clan despised her very presence.

She pushed open an aged door. The musty odor reached her. The dimly lit chamber contained a throne carved out of aged stones. It was a throne room. Her throne room. Six blood-eyed warriors stood near the wall, their heads lowered in her presence.

“Goddess Alastrina, we welcome you back.”

Her immortal warriors filled her chest with pride. Then she recalled the traitor and her sharp brows knitted into a worried frown. Andreas was loyal and devoted even among others. Yet, he tried to expose her identity as if he was terrified of something or someone.

If she was at the peak of her power, changing visions with her subject would be a piece of cake. Unfortunately, she lost the right to her mother’s divinity and some other wench earned her mother’s favor.

“Andreas is dead,” Alastrina announced. “Bring me more of those brainless humans.”

She had ruins to explore and more importantly, she had to transform the lured hunters into her warriors. Her lips curled up in a smirk as she thought about the foolish hunters who lusted for the Chronos Chamber and its bountiful rewards. All of her plans required more manpower.

‘It shall be my first meaningful battle.’

Now that she thought about it, things haven’t changed much from her past life. She used to turn Elven Empire’s warriors into her followers, now she would do that to a hunter's party.

What’s different was her goal.

She came forward to help out others before. This was her selfish attempt to reconcile with her mother.

LordHeaven

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