Even though the two had not yet reconciled, Agra wanted nothing to do with Irene. She had made it crystal clear she wanted nothing to do with him as well by cheating on him.
That was the only logic here. You don't get to cheat on a person you still wish to keep, you only hurt those you ultimately believe you are done with, and ready to let go.
This was the exact reason why Agra was confused when he saw the unexpected notification dangling in front of his eyes.
[You have received a mana transfer from a witch-warlock bond]
[A temporary slot has been added]
[Name: Agra Imoh]
[Race: ???]
[Class:???]
[Grade:???]
[HBT: 157 BPM]
[Level: 1]
[Exp: 74/100]
[HP:15/15]
[Mana: 100] {temporary}
[Strength: 10]
[Durability: 12]
[Dexterity:12]
[Stat points: 0]
[Savage points: 0]
"What is this..? Some kind of a guilt trip?" He muttered in a confused tone.
For a moment, he was compelled to just return all the mana he had received back to Irene, he was doing quite well after leveling and he didn't need her help, or so he thought. And since he didn't want to give her some wrong ideas like maybe they could reconcile, he send all the mana back, only to be blocked by a system notification lingering in his eyes.
{The Curse of the Whispering Root is still locked}
{Break the witch warlock bond to initiate the mana transfer}
For a moment, Agra felt like he was being player by the system. How could he send back the mana after breaking the bond, the only current medium between him and Irene? But in that moment, he realized something else.
The system sounded more desperate for him to break the witch-warlock bond in a way that it sounded unsettling.
It felt more like the system was being hurt by the bond, which Agra didn't know if it was a good or bad thing, but he still knew he has to work on it. Yet, he knew that breaking the bond might awaken something inside him he could never control, or maybe, just maybe, it might grant him a power so vast that even the mountains would bow and the heavens tremble beneath his feet.
But which was which?
At this moment, after hearing Emma and Emmanuel's conversation, Agra was trying to avoid getting himself in a situation where he would be be completely exposed, as he wasn't strong enough to defend himself, yet.
Secondly, a witch-warlock bond was a sacred bond. It wasn't something that one could just blink and break. It was like using and atony to get a divorce where everything would be taken step by step.
So, yeah, to break the bond, Agra needed to be with Irene and undergo a specific ritual that would neutralize the bond.
This only meant that in one way or anothe, he would eventually have to meet and talk with Irene even though the whole idea of seeing her face send a sickening feeling down his stomach.
It has already happened, and since it wasn't like he could send the mana back even if he wanted to, he decided to put it to a proper use.
He still needed to survive. He needed to get out of this forest, and if possible, out of this chaotic world where everything smelled danger.
It was more like every step in this world was a leap of fate, and Irene sending him the mana, it meant that she was also in danger and somehow understood the reality of this world, and instead of thinking of herself like anybody else should, she thought of what matters the most to her and decided to protect it in the only best way she could.
But of course Agra didn't know of this, I mean, how could he after the state of which he found her and Derek on that bed?
Right now, he had some important stuffs to do as he walked to an already fallen tree.
He dipped his finger into the gash. A thick, dark sap clung to his skin, sticky and foul, carrying with it a stench that made his stomach churn.
His throat tightened as the quest's demand echoed in his mind, "taste of the blood."
Every instinct screamed against it. His body recoiled, his hand trembled, and his lips pressed into a hard line. This wasn't food. This wasn't survival. This was humiliation, degradation, a test designed to break him from within.
He pulled his hand back, staring at the viscous smear glistening on his fingertip. The thought of bringing it to his mouth made bile rise in his throat.
'Why should I obey? Why should I give in to this cursed system?' He thought, but that didn't stop him, especially with the notification lingering, silent yet unyielding.
It wasn't threatening him, it wasn't forcing him, but it was waiting.
The choice was his to make. Refusal meant stagnation. Acceptance meant progress.
Agra's jaw clenched. He hated it. He hated the taste he imagined, the thought of sap sliding down his throat. He hated the system for demanding this of him. But more than that, he hated the idea of being stuck, weak, unprepared, trapped in this forest with no way forward.
Slowly, deliberately, he raised his finger. His stomach twisted, his breath caught, but he pressed on. The sap touched his lips, bitter and metallic, but he forced himself to swallow.
His body convulsed, his throat burned, but he endured with a notification displaying.
[A Feral Tier corrupt beast blood has been consumed]
[Quest progress]
[Feral Tier: 2/5]
The thought of, he still had three tastes to go with almost made him puke.
The blood tasted awful, unlike anything that he had ever experienced, and yet, he forced himself to taste the third, fourth and finally fifth as the system screen dangled in his vision.
[First part of the quest: Taste of the blood has been completed]
[Quest progress]
[Feral Tier Beast: 5/5]
[Savage Tier Beast: 0/5]
[Dominion Tier Beast: 0/5]
[Monarch Tier Beast: 0/5]
[You current situation has been analyzed and a perfect reward to suit you state is being calculated]
[Calculation progress: 2%]
The first part of it was over, and honestly, it wasn't like Agra was expecting something big out of this. So when the system stated that a possible reward was being calculated after completing the first part of the quest, he was a bit startled.
He was doing this in the hopes of wanting to understand the system and yet, he was going to earn something, possibly big out of this. The only question was, was it gonna be now, or after he had completed the entire task, since the countdown was a bit too slow.
He paused and locked around wondering which way should he take as he attempts to get out of this forest. Behind him were massive chunks of land suspend in the air with the floor that seemed to be of endless abyys.
In front of him was the endless forest full of Dream Trees, and since he didn't know the danger lying behind the abyss, Agra decided take the forest path as he somehow could adopt to its dangers.
He took the frist step heading to the direction while preparing to defend himself. But before he could even take the second step, something suddenly crashed behind him that forced him to turn around and look, for his eyes only to land on a giant white mountain wolf looking down to him with crimson red eyes full of bloodlust.