Chapter 09

Drake Brand.

I checked the other two orbs. The red one said it was a [Beast soul (S): Baby Salamander] while the other one is [Beast soul (SSS): Baby Night Wing]

“Hey…” staring at the black colored will-o'-wisp I asked my red haired companion. “From what you said, the soul of an S tier infant beast is more valuable than that of the more powerful fully matured version, right?”

“Yes…” Rollo replied, turning to the soul box. 

“What if the soul of the infant is an SSS tier?”

The reply came a few seconds late this time. Rollo let out a weak chuckle and patted my shoulder a few times. This guy doesn’t know what the words personal space mean.

“Good one, Drake! You almost got me!” He said, still laughing. “The only SSS tier magical beasts that exist are elder dragons, and those are so powerful they could wipe out entire countries in a single night. Obtaining the soul of one of those living calamities is practically impossible!”

“… right…”

His answer confirmed my suspicions and I immediately reached for the black orb. I might have called him an idiot, but as someone who’s knowledgeable about the topic there is just no way he’d let me have it if he learns the truth. He might even try to kill me to get it.

“Don’t tell me…”

Before he could finish I shoved the orb in my mouth. I thought its size would be a hindrance but as it turns out the soul was soft and squishy like it’s a small water balloon and the moment it entered my mouth it just went down my throat without a problem. It had no texture or taste like a mouthful of air.

A few seconds passed and nothing happened, but then I suddenly fell to my knees as strength left my body. 

Unbearable pain spread from my stomach to every part of my body and as if I was being torn apart cell by cell.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[SSS grade Beast Soul has been ingested. ]

[Identifying Beast Soul 

Specie: Night Wing.

Level: 01.

Attribute: Dragon. Darkness

]

[Would you like to assimilate level 01 Baby Night Wing?]

[YES]

[Beginning assimilation]

[…]

[ASSIMILATION COMPLETE]

Blue rectangles flashed in front of my eyes one after the other as the pain intensified but suddenly all of it went away with only the last window remaining.

The process was completed in a single second. It was just a single second yet I felt like my entire body was being torn apart and put back together. The indescribable pain instantly disappeared and I was left with only the terror it made me feel.

“Hey! Drake! What’s gotten into you!” 

Rollo knelt beside me looking horrified as well.

“Nothing…” I said as I tried to get back on my feet. “Does eating souls always cause this much pain?” 

“Obviously.” He replied. “Well, it depends on the grade of the Soul. I’ve never seen anything like this before. What kind of beast did you pick?”

“A Night Wing…”

“Hahaha, you’re so funny. But really, what was it?”

“…”

“… no way…” 

Rollo stared at me for a few seconds, his eyes gradually going wide as I kept my silence.

“An elder dragon… are you telling me you just ate the Soul of an elder dragon?”

“Well, it was a baby…”

“Hahaha… I give up…” turning to the box, Rollo stared at the other two orbs. “Man, this sucks. I guess it’s my fault for being unable to recognize what they are. How did you do it anyways?”

“Well, I just knew…”

I can’t really tell him about the System. To begin with, I don’t even know what it is myself. 

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Rollo reached out and picked the blue orb.

“This is the one that belonged to the Snow Tiger, right?”  He asked.

“Yeah…”

Hearing my reply, the red haired boy stared at the blue orb. He then closed his eyes and gobbled the Beast Soul in one go. Freezing for a moment he bent forward and held his belly as if he got a sudden stomachache. I don’t know if it’s just me but I felt like it took him much longer to assimilate than it did for me.

“Man… this really hurts…” 

Once the process was done Rollo looked up with a pained grin and teary eyes. He held his stomach as if it still hurts but apparently it’s just his imagination. 

“Now, what do we do with the last one?” I asked.

“Well, you took the elder dragon’s Soul so I would say it’s only fair that I eat it…” Rollo said, glancing over at me. “But you can’t really do that unless you want to risk dying. I say we take it with us…”

His voice trailed off until he went completely silent. 

“Hey…” lifting a shaky finger he pointed at something behind me. “What… what’s that?”

For a moment I thought he was trying to trick me so he could eat the Baby Salamander's soul, however when I moved my feet as I turned around I instantly knew what stole the color from his face.

The storage room was dimly lit so I couldn’t tell for sure what it was, however in this situation a dark colored liquid could only mean one thing. 

I checked myself and was relieved to learn that I wasn’t the source. It seemed to come from behind the rock the small box was placed on. 

My mind begged me not to go look but my body moved on its own. I already had an idea of what awaited me, even so I couldn’t prevent the shock from hitting me.

Behind the white altar like rock two black clocked men lay on top of each other bathed in a pool of what I can only imagine is their own blood. 

“Huh…” 

Rollo could only gasp after taking a peek. My mind raced trying to comprehend what’s happening. I thought we were just lucky that we didn’t run into any cultists so far.

Though the storage area had a lot of weapons and supplies it was weird that it had no door and no one was there to guard it. 

I thought it was because we were inside a mountain and they had no reasons to worry about thieves, but that would be too careless when you take into account the box with the high grade beast souls. 

Even if they left all the other areas unguarded they should’ve at least assigned one or two guards to this storage room. And that’s what they did. But it seems that wasn’t enough. 

“Let’s move.” I said before the nauseating feeling could catch up to me. 

The cell I was thrown in and the ropes that tied my arms came to mind. I was almost certain that the one who helped me escape is responsible for what happened to those two.

They were cleverly hidden behind that altar and there were no traces on the floor so we would have never noticed if we didn’t stay in the storage for that long. 

That was a big mistake we made which I had only just noticed.

“I HAVE FOUND THEM!!!”

At the entrance to the storage room, one of the black cloaked men shouted while pointing a spear in our direction.