As Dred rushed through the plain, he saw the soldiers of the Drung Kingdom leave their trenches and walk towards the city. Since Salem learned how to speak the general language, they just ignored them and let them deal with the aftermath.

After finding a good spot, they checked their notifications. Elena gained more than fifteen skills, though she wasn’t interested in either of them. She was happy to see that she gained more DNA than the others because of her Devourer specialization and unlike Dred, she was able to change the DNA and control her evolution to some degree.

Of course, she couldn’t change the DNA of a completely magic-focused person into physical attributes and it’s the same the other way around. It’s just that instead of the basic control of the world system, she was able to control what part she devoured in what amount. Before she could read anything, she felt something cold touching her neck.

Turning around, she saw nothing. “Who was it?”

“Haha, look up, Elena” Audrey laughed at her.

“It’s snow! But the trees still have leaves…” Elena gasped, seeing snow for the first time.

“Maybe these are similar to pine trees,” Audrey muttered, placing her hand on the bark of a tree. “The canopy isn’t thick either. There aren’t too many leaves on these trees, after all.” Raising her hand, Audrey ‘caught’ a speck of snow, which quickly melted in her palm. “It feels as if last year happened decades ago. So many things happened… and it’s winter again.”

“I feel the same,” Jake agreed with Audrey, his face melancholic.

“Of course, you would feel the same. You went through similar things, especially considering me,” Elena chuckled.

“I can’t deny that,” Jake shook his head. “Anyway, let me see what you’ve got!”

Feeling surprised to see his interest in ‘spell’ related things once again, she tilted her head to the side. Is it natural to get interested in things the one you love likes? Well, I’ll just show it to him.

Lv

Class: ShadowMoor (Exclusive, Legendary)

Devourer

Stealth

Demonology

300

Inner-devourer: Your body is built up from cells with their own system and you are the mastermind. Although you can use your body to devour other beings, without this specialization it will be hard. This will turn your body into a real weapon. Your palms, your belly? Anything could split open and turn into a meat grinder!

Mind-Rush: Each time you attack or an attack is about to hit you, your brain will be rushed with a liquid, that will form in your body after you pick this trait. It will make you see everything in slow-motion.

Whisperings: With this spell, you will be able to communicate with others without opening your mouth. If you wish so, you can also let others connect with your mind, but you will be the one controlling what will be heard or not. Can be used as a spell to listen in on people’s thoughts for a limited time.

“These are great! But to be honest, I’d be troubled by it in your place. I mean, what will you pick? They are all so great…” Jake furrowed his brows, somewhat envious.

“Well, it’s not as hard as you think. Dred already picked mind-rush, and I’ll pick whisperings because inner-devourer is something I already know. With cosmological constant, I’ll be able to ‘split open’ any part of my body, once I have a good enough control and as my Devour gains levels, I’ll be able to reach the same effect. It’s only a question of time. But the other two? Hell, I’d have to be a genius to create a spell like that.”

“You are a genius already, aren’t you?”

“Well, by the standards of humans, yeah. By my own standards, I’m not. I’m nothing great. Most of our widely used spells came from Audrey. It was only later on that I created my bacteria and summoned Ekilsta. Oh, right, it came really handy in our recent battle,” Elena replied, rubbing a deep wound on her right arm. “I’d have lost my left arm if not for controlling numerous minds. Although it’s not a big deal to put it back if I have the arm, it would have taken a few weeks. Not to mention if I lost my cut arm.”

“But you still have a deep wound. It’s ugly and dirty. You should clean it,” Audrey commented.

“It doesn’t feel good either…” Elena furrowed her brows.

“I’m rather surprised by the fact that you aren’t screaming in pain instead,” Audrey raised a brow, waiting for an explanation.

“Hehe, my body doesn’t find it a good thing to bolt my mind with a sense of pain. In fact, I can control how much I feel too. Basically, my body feels pain, but only a small amount to tell me that something is ‘bad’. It’s up to the mastermind to decide if it’s still worth it.”

“Eh? So unlike humans, you can… you bastard! What if I was cut? Could I do this too?”

“Well, yeah. I should teach you how to control your cells too, shouldn’t I?” Elena asked with a smirk, holding her hand towards Audrey. “Come, bite me.”

Audrey turned away, but a strange pulling feeling filled her mind. Slowly turning back, she checked out Elena’s fair, spotless, smooth skin. Stepping closer, she bit into Elena’s wound and sucked out her blood, followed by Jake. “I’m sorry that I forgot to feed this to you, but it was so natural that it never came to my mind that you might not know how to do it.”

“...”

“What about you three? We had reached the three hundred and sixty-fifth level, so I’m sure that you should be at a similar level,” Dred interrupted the sudden silence.

“Indeed, I’ve got something new at the three hundred and fiftieth level,” Audrey was the first to reply.

“Same here,” Jake added, while Cor only hung his head, looking at his level standing at three hundred and forty.

“Don’t worry, my dead friend! You will catch up with us in no time!” Dred patted his back, putting in enough strength to make him fall forward.

“Just so you know, I was much stronger than either of you in the past!”

“Yeah, but you got killed, so it doesn’t matter,” Jake commented.

“I’ll bite you one day. Watch your sleep…”

“What? Are you trying to pick a fight?”

Sighing loudly, Elena shook her head, “Just shut up. Why can’t you two get along?”

“It’s his fault!” Cor pointed at Jake. Holding her forehead, Elena ignored them and looked at Audrey’s options.

Lv

Class: Arcane Mage (Epic)

Dark Arts

Mystic

Caster

350

Blood Mage: This trait will help you in learning blood magic. You will be able to turn even a simple wound into a deadly one.

Drip Element: Every element is powerful, however no single person nor single element is truly powerful alone. The combination is the key.

Secrets of Time: How does time work? Can it be controlled? What are the restrictions? With the help of this, you will be able to find out and shorten your casting time. Or maybe you will learn a lot more.

“I picked Secrets of Time because it might help me in learning more about time, which I have no idea of how to use… While Drip Element is akin to a spoiler… I now know that it is possible and as long as I focus on it, I’ll be able to learn it myself. Blood Magic is similar in that aspect, though I’m not sure if I want to learn it. Learning too many things at the same time is no good. Maybe later if I have fewer things to learn,” Audrey reasoned beside her decision.

“I agree with you, but did something enter your mind after picking it?” Elena asked in her curiosity.

“Well, I’ve got a basic concept, but I’ll have to unfold it myself and I’ll have to learn how to use it as a spell, which won’t happen anytime soon…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Elena patted her back.

“While we are at it, let’s try this new form of speech!” Elena used her new ability and talked to everyone with whisperings.

Feeling Elena’s Mana around his head, Dred thought, “Can you hear me?”

“Yes, crystal clear!”

“Audrey?”

“Yes? I can hear you. Now I’ll push back your mana, let’s see if you will hear me that way. Now-”

“Are you thinking of something?”

“I did. Did you not hear me?”

“I didn’t. Interesting. So as long as the person in question doesn’t force back my Mana, I can hear their thoughts. This also means that I can use this spell at least once to read somebody’s next few steps, in case they do plan ahead.”

“That’s a really great spell, even if you can use it only once. I mean, they would definitely not let your Mana linger around their heads.”

“Yeah, but if my opponents are weaker, I might be able to forcefully spy on their thoughts,” Elena thought aloud. Noticing Jake’s envious eyes, she chuckled before asking, “What did you get?”

Restore

The default restriction on Blink is level 100. This means that you can’t blink farther than ten meters, in every two hundred seconds. This spell will help you gain more control over the Void and make it possible for you to restore it to its original state. Shortly, you will be able to use Blink more often and at bigger ranges.

“I picked this one from the Void Master specialization.”

“Oh? If you get in complete control of these two skills, you will become a really annoying and dangerous opponent,” Dred praised him and was happy to see that Jake had a somewhat similar build compared to his.

“Yeah, although infusing my weapons with elemental and physical buffs is great, if I could blink around people in a short amount of time, it would be even better! Imagine how confused they would be!”

“How nice for you people…” Cor murmured while sitting on a fallen tree trunk, drawing something on the ground with a stick. Stepping closer, Jake saw a very realistic-looking heart.

“An artist was lost in you…”

“What? I just know what they look like. They are delicious, you know? I wonder what your heart tastes like,” Cor replied with a grin on his face.

“I hope that you will never find out.”

“Hehe, I was just kidding. Don’t take it to heart.”

He is talking seriously, but for him to play with words… I guess he is slowly getting back his memories without his notice, Jake thought, while looking at Cor.

“Oh, well. You will soon reach the same level and catch up with us.”

“Sure! By the way, where is Dred, my furry friend?”

“You seem to be liking him a lot, but I don’t know.”

“Yeah, he understands how delicious human flesh is! And well, he is a cool guy!”

“Well, he is reliable, even if he had that little ‘joke’ not long ago.”

“Shouldn’t you find him?” Audrey interrupted the guys’ chatter and asked Elena.

“Mhm.” Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she left towards the way she sensed Dred’s presence.