Chapter 18: So Dry

Facing the Blood Bat-vampire, Gin had a serious expression. The Blood Bat-vampire was the most annoying branch of the vampire mutations. Although they were not the strongest, their resilient bodies and ability to fly were the reasons why the vampire hunters avoid meeting them alone but prefer to have a team or two in facing them.

Usually, Blood Bat-vampires dwell between rank 8 to rank 9 mortal arts. Rarely can this type of vampire transcend the limits of the mortal body and become a Transcender Arts Practitioner. This is because the energy needed to transcend must be a balance of hot and cold energies. Vampires are undead, meaning they are cold. Only the Highmoon Royal Blood Vampires and the members of the Elder Blood, who has practiced the unliving arts are able to transcend.

But looking at the Blood Bat-vampire Deidre, Gin knew that he was a Transcender. And not just any transcender, but someone at the peak transcender stage.

“Lil’ Blue… how many minutes can you give me?” Gin asked the bull, but his eyes were still fixed on the Deidre.

Little Blue looked at the vampire then passed the little boy he was holding to the gate guard Bernard. “Master, if I use your techniques, I will last 2 minutes… but if I use my own physical strength, I might be able to stretch it to 5 minutes.”

“Mhm…” Gin nodded. “6 minutes… give me 6 minutes…”

“6 Minutes?” Little Blue was startled. “Is it very serious?”

“Yes… He is a peak stage Transcender… using my technique the Titan Art is only most effective against hell’s creatures. Even if it’s an Ascender, as long as it came from the 9 hells, ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS can turn them into dust. But the undead? Fire is most effective… but I cannot use my fire spells right now… I don’t have my ring…” Gin then turned his head toward Little Blue.

“Right now, you are a rank 3 Transcender, and I’m currently only at… rank 1 mortal arts…” Gin awkwardly smiled as he seemed to be embarrassed at his current state of prowess.

The volume of their voice was very low that Deidre wasn’t able to hear the quick conversation but Bernard who was beside them was able to hear it clearly. Currently, he was again very shocked. ‘rr.rra…rank 1 mortal arts? Only rank 1 mortal arts? And he was able to annihilate the Golden Eye Mercenaries in a blink of an eye? What in the world is happening here?’

“Ok Master… I will try to give you as much time as possible.” Little Blue smiled. He then faced Deidre. Suddenly blue flame-like aura burst out from his body. “How about we spar a little bit little leech? I’m currently not used to this form yet, so I’ll need a little bit of practice.”

When Deidre saw the blue aura coming out of little blue, he was stunned. An Ascender? Only Ascenders can use the blue aura! Before he could continue with his thoughts, a fist came flying straight at his face. But due to having a higher level than little blue, he was faster with his guard.

Deidre’s hands were already up on guard when little blue’s fist hit him. Deidre flew like a broken kite for a few meters until he regained his balance.

With little blue’s natural strength, together with his bloodline arts, the power of his punches cannot be taken for granted. If Deidre wasn’t able to block that punch, although he won’t die, he would be injured. And even a slight injury would cause him to be at a disadvantage.

“Tsk!” Feeling the numbness on his arms, Deidre gritted his teeth. Only a few more months and a hundred more virgin teenager’s blood essence, and he could have Ascended! But the appearance of Gin and Little Blue destroyed all his plans. As he stared at little blue angrily, he noticed something on his sleeves. He could smell a light scent of burnt fiber. On the spot that little blue hit, he felt a warm sensation. There was a very tiny flame ember left of his sleeves. “This is…”

While little blue confronted Deidre, Gin closed his eyes and his mind seem to enter another world. It was an endless area of land. This place is his inner world which he usually calls the Mana Pool. With his previous strength, his inner world would look like a vast ocean filled with a glimmering blue water-like substance called Mana. But right now, it looked like an endless desert. Empty and dry. Yes… So Dry…

Gin’s image was projected in his inner world and currently, he was floating in front of 8 large structures. These large structures that looked like floodgates were actually his mana gates. When he saw his mana gates, he couldn’t help but smile wryly and shake his head. His mana gates were broken. Never have these gates brought mana to his mana pool. This problem was congenital.

Going down below his mana gates, he landed in front of a small puddle around 6 inches in diameter. This small puddle was currently his mana. Compared to the vastness of his inner world, the mana it currently contains was just a small puddle. How ironic.

Surrounding this puddle were twelve orbs with names. These names were names of the clans who participated in the great war against Malibourne. The names were Heart, Helm, Highward, Vough, Silverleaf, Ashtara, Kivinu, Stonepaw, Beardchaser, Stormbrewer, Rothfield, and Millianard. Looking at these names gave Gin another instance of nostalgia.

The twelve orbs are the twelve seals that make an energy array called the Soul Divide Array. It was an array used to split the energy of the user into parts. Each part contains the same amount of energy as the whole. Therefore, those who receive a part of the energy will have power equal to the undivided energy of the user. The only drawback is the user himself will have his power sealed.

With Gin’s power divided into twelve seals, he can only manifest a thirteenth of his total strength. But if those parts will be returned to him, they will serve as a key to unlock each seal to break the orbs, returning to him his original strength.

Even so, if he still had a thirteenth of his power, he could defeat a hundred Deidres with just once punch. But right now, he only had a thousandth of his thirteenth.

Looking at the small puddle in front of him, Gin raised his arm and glanced at his hand. “With the current state of my mana pool, I can at most, use ROCK with 1 kiloton cannon once or…” Gin was deliberating which skill to use against Deidre. Without his previous strength or his equipment, he can only rely on his Titan Arts. But the drawback of using this technique was mana usage. Without the ability to absorb energy from the heavens and earth, Gin could only rely on potions. But because potions are expensive and he is currently penniless, he could only imagine the hard battle he will be fighting after 6 minutes is done.

“Haaa…. Dealing with ascender ragnakars was a hundred times better than fighting this undead bat…” Gin sighed.

When Gin opened his eyes, the battle between Little Blue and Deidre was still going on. But from the look of things, the spirit bull was at a disadvantage. Only 2 minutes had passed yet the tables have now turned against Little Blue.

Gin glanced at his side and saw the gate guard holding a little boy while shaking in his boots. “Mr. Guard… is the little boy’s sister among the corpses on the floor?” Gin asked.

“N.. no.. no Great Sir! She is the one there hanging on the wall…”

As the gate guard said this, Gin turned his head towards the eastern wall. There he saw five girls with their hands cuffed and chained hanging on the walls. Although they were still alive, but due to hunger and fatigue, they were very weak.

Among the five, Gin saw an ash haired girl around 14 – 15 years old. Behind the bruises and the wounds, one could see that she was a very beautiful girl with fair skin, oval shape face, and had the presence of someone very pure.

“Surely… she is a Silverleaf…” Gin said as he looked at the girl that seemed to superimpose the face of his eldest brother Gray.

“Mr. Guard, release them from their chains and help them out…” Gin ordered the gate guard coolly.

“Ah! Yes, Great Sir! I will abide!” the gate guard replied panickily.

Gin turned back to the battle between Little Blue and Deidre. He clenched his fist and gritted his fist. Under the cover of his hair, his left eye shone brightly. Gin normally had green eyes, but when he releases his energy his left eye will turn into amber yellow.

“If I came too late… what sin would have been done to my elder brother…”

With a terrifying black and red electric-like aura surrounding him, Gin widely grinned…