[??? is reacting to a strange energy...]
My bloodline was starting to act up again. It had happened again in the span of a few weeks at most. Once when I had my fight in the Lix Estate and now, when a strange voice was calling out to me.
'Still, it says energy...'
I frowned. The voice I was hearing was definitely from a human or some kind of living thing. It couldn't be energy.
I continued to walk deeper into the forest as I closed my eyes and began focusing on the strange energy flow that seemed to form a path in the forest.
The voice no longer spoke to me as it seemed to understand that I was heading in its direction.
Ever since I could remember, I had tried to find a hint about my bloodline, and finally, I was about to... I might even talk to someone with the same bloodline as me.
'To think that I would find out on my own and without the camp's "help"...'
I had shivers run down my spine just thinking of all the tests they had put me through over the years, all without the slightest hope of success. I had even begun to believe they would run those tests just to see me suffer and to keep reminding me that I was theirs...
The trail of the red, mysterious energy suddenly came to an end as I was now in front of a tall cliff. I tried to look if there might be a hidden hole inside the cliff, but no matter how hard I tried... I couldn't find anything. I also couldn't sense the presence of any living being.
'Was it really just energy?' I thought to myself with a frown, disappointed.
"Here... boy."
That voice—it was definitely close.
"Where are you?" I carefully called out, speaking in a normal tone, not trying to alert any monster or creature that might be nearby.
After all, I was deep inside the forest. I had gone in without even thinking; I might have even reached the area where A-Rank monsters and above resided.
"Walk... in front of you..."
I frowned at those words.
In front of me was a cliff; there was nothing else. However, I had nothing to lose... I had already given up on coming back in time so that the professor wouldn't notice I had disappeared. I would be doing everything in my power to find out what this... thing was.
I walked closer to the cliff when I noticed something strange with the stone before me. It seemed to be moving ever so slightly. One might have missed it; however, with the years of observation training that I had... I noticed it instantly.
I brought my arm forward and tried to press against the moving stone. However, instead of touching something solid... I passed right through it.
There was a hidden hole inside this cliff. However, it had been carefully concealed behind an illusion. An illusion that had been powerful enough to almost fool my keen senses.
Whoever had made this was no joke at all.
I finally walked through the illusion, where I was met with a horrid sight.
Only a few steps away from me, a man was on his last breath. He seemed to be in an even worse state than I was when Amelia had found me. I could tell at a glance that there was no longer any hope for him. Even if the strongest healer were in my place, they wouldn't be able to save him.
"You... what are you?" the dying man suddenly asked.
"What am I?" I replied, confused.
"H-How were you able to hear my voice?"
I didn't reply. It wasn't that I didn't want to, it's simply that I had no idea why I had heard his voice in the first place.
"Do you know what you are?"
I became even more confused by the second.
Was this the rambling of a dying person?
I couldn't be sure just yet.
"I don't. Can you tell me?"
He slowly shook his head as his eyes began closing on their own.
"I can't... not right now. However, I will be able to if you allow me to recuperate inside of your body."
I blinked a few times.
That had been the last thing I had expected to hear.
"Recuperate inside of my body?"
"I don't have the time to explain, just get closer to me," the dying man said as he lifted his right arm, wanting to touch my body.
'What is he trying to do? Does he want to take over my body?'
I couldn't trust this dangerous man. There was no doubt that he was extremely dangerous and powerful. I couldn't take on the risk of letting him inside of me. Who knew what his plan was?
I wanted to find out more about my bloodline, but... this wasn't the way.
The dying man instantly noticed that I wasn't moving a single step and bit his lower lip in annoyance.
"I swear on my Mana Core that I will never try to hurt you..." he muttered under his breath. "So, please..."
Swearing on one's Mana Core might seem ridiculous. However, it had great consequences. If he were to break the promise he had just made, his Mana Core would shatter and he would die in the process.
That man really wasn't trying to hurt me.
Only then did I walk forward, allowing him to touch my body.
Almost instantly, his human form began changing into small particles as he seemed to be sucked inside of my body, more precisely right next to my Mana Core, where another small sphere began forming.
'How is that possible?' I said to myself as I felt a new, dormant Mana Core inside of my body.
However, the new Mana Core wasn't completely dormant. It was taking small bits of Mana from my Mana Core to fuel itself. However, it wasn't just absorbing my Mana, it seemed to be transforming it into something else...
Something that I had never seen before.