“W-W-What is this?” Drazen’s eyes were wide, his face even paler than normal, his pupils darting left and right. “W-Where am I?” Wherever Drazen looked, it was pitch black. The duke slashed his sword around, attempting to cut the darkness, only for the darkness to become still.

Drazen remembered killing the human, he remembered the sword biting into that bastard’s neck. Yet he remembered feeling resistance, the feeling of biting into something other than flesh.

It felt like…

Straw.

“CAW! CAW!”

Crows suddenly emerged from the darkness, swirling around the duke like vultures circling a carcass. “Crows? What are crows doing here?” Duke Drazen watched the circling crows warily, his sword gripped tight.

“Hehehe! Look who decided to drop by?”

A chilly cackle sounded all around, Drazen brought his sword forward, eyes darting around, looking for the source. “A little duke dares to harm my master, I’ll make your death painful, kekekeke!”

Drazen’s eyes caught sight of something in the darkness, a scarecrow with legs stepped out, the straw body towering 10 meters tall, a terrifying smile carved into the straw, the ends of the smile reaching its ears.

Drazen felt his mind numb, the only word pounding in his head.

“Fear... Fear… Fear!” Drazen clutched his head, a guttural scream exploding. He saw things… things he feared the most.

And Drazen screamed.

While the Fearcrow’s grin widened.

>>>

Han Ling woke, his body in terrible pain, his neck still on his head. “Where am I?” Han Ling could feel his back on a soft bed, his chest bandaged neatly. Han Ling tried to sit up but gave up after an intense pain threatened to burst from his chest.

“If I’m alive, that means the Fearcrow got my message. Whew, I wasn’t expecting the vampires to ambush me…” Han Ling sighed.

Creak…

Han Ling turned his head to the side, seeing Aiko enter, traces of worry all over her face. Then she noticed the awoken Han Ling and relief palpitated the air, Han Ling could literally feel her relief.

“You’re awake!” A beautiful smile bloomed on her face. “Kinuko! He’s awake!” A pattering of footsteps and more people appeared at the door. Han Ling saw Narukami at the door, behind him was the short Kinuko. Han Ling attempted to get up but he coughed a cry of pain.

Kinuko quickly cast a spell, green light bathed Han Ling, his chest glowing slightly and his body felt lighter. “Thanks.” “How do you feel?”

Han Ling smiled, before he realized his mask was off, his eyes slightly quivering in panic. Aiko smiled at that, “Your mask was lost, the Fearcrow brought you in so everyone has seen your face.” Kinuko mumbled, “Why do you need to hide such a handsome face?”

Aiko caught that and laughed out loud, causing Kinuko to turn beet red.

Han Ling chuckled, his fluster disappearing instantly. Narukami came up, clapping the teen on the shoulder, “Who did you even fight to come back in that state?”

“The vampiric dukes ambushed me.” Narukami opened his mouth, “Ahhh, that explains it.”

“Explains what?”

Narukami spoke in a sombre tone, “The Vampire Lord attacked Storm Haven.”

“What?!” Han Ling lurched up, clenching his fists as the pain exploded from his chest, but he held it in. “The Vampire Lord attacked? When? What happened?”

Narukami pressed a hand on Han Ling’s shoulder, “Calm down, Sojobo and Fearcrow stepped in, the Vampire Lord invaded but didn’t last very long, she was forced to retreat.” Han Ling breathed out a sigh of relief, “Will she be back?” Narukami nodded heavily, “Sojobo predicts the Vampiric Ancestor would come as well…”

Han Ling gritted his teeth. The Vampiric Ancestor is the first vampire, the mother of all vampires, the daughter of a demon king, fell into the mortal world and created an era of vampires. The only reason she hasn’t conquered the realm of monsters was because of other descendants from gods. After a gruesome war, she was forced into slumber and here she wakes again.

“What about the three empires?” A smile formed on Narukami’s face, “The Beast and Goblin Empire has waged war on the Undead Empire. Because of your dungeon run, the Undead Empire got the short stick out of this. Both empires are literally after the Lich King’s blood. They’ve already destroyed one of their trade cities.”

“That’s good, if it continues the Undead Empire would fall, but that’ll make the other two empires a force to reckon with.” Han Ling’s face turned grim, “Looks like I don’t have a lot of time.”

“I have to get ready. Kinuko please heal me to the fullest.” Kinuko looked at Han Ling in shock, “The process would be extremely painful, you might even die if you can’t handle it!” Han Ling smiled, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Kinuko looked worried but she raised both hands, breathing in softly before chanting.

Han Ling closed his eyes, completely expressionless, he felt a trembling pain exploding from his chest, but his will was strong, he didn’t even twitch, even when his muscles grew painfully. The wound disappeared and Han Ling breathed out a sigh of relief, thanking Kinuko kindly.

He shakily left the room, getting used to his body again as he made his way towards the blacksmith area.

He pushed the door of the smithery and the smell of metal filled the air, an uncomfortable heat scorching the air.

“Oh! You’re here!” The usually grumpy man had a cheerful look on his face, “I finished your sword a while ago, have a look.” Han Ling moved to the desk, where a piece of cloth laid on top of what looked like to be the outline of a sword.

Han Ling lifted the cloth and his eye sparkled at the sight.

A beautiful white blade, the handle made of bluish wood, a sea blue crystal embedded in in the centre of the hilt. The young man picked it up.

Glimmering Pearl Blade (Glorious Gold)

Type: One-handed Sword

Rarity: Unique

Attack Damage: +451

Remarks: A sword created by Blacksmith Kurudan by smelting the Pearl Trident, creating an entirely new weapon.

Passive Skills:

Water Control: Able to control the element of water to a certain extent.

Hydro Edge: All attacks down by the sword deals a decent water damage.

Hydro Turf: When user is under water, +20% ATK.

Active Skills:

Torrential Twister: Fires a twister in a 50-meter range, damage ramps up after every second, reaching 400% of magic attack. CD: 10 minutes.

Unstoppable Wave: Attacks are unable to be blocked for 1 minute, all damage +30%. CD: 20 minutes.

Crest Water Whirl: A single spin attack that deals a damage in a 15 by 15 circle. Targets closest to user will receive extra 40% damage, and damage decreases with range.

Han Ling whistled in admiration, a big grin on his face. “Heh heh! How do you like it kid?” Han Ling nodded with a smile, “Its definitely a work of art.” He marvelled at the blade, “I’ll have to trouble you for another commission, Master Kurudan.” “Oh? What is it this time? I got a ton of smithing exp from crafting that.”

“I’m sure this will reward even more.”

Han Ling placed the broken sword Obsidian Hollow on the desk and Kurudan came up to inspect it, tapping the handle gently.

He silently inspected the blade for a second before looking up at the young man with quivering eyes, a mask of shock on that dirty face. “T-This…”

“Please keep it a secret.” Han Ling brought a finger to his lip, a trace of a smile on his face, “Can you fix it?” Kurudan tapped on the blade and winced, “I’m not sure… I could give it a try but there’s a chance that the sword is unrepairable.”

“Hmm, what if you use this?” Han Ling placed the Obsidian Heart he obtained from the Sacred Heart dungeon. It was a black piece of rock, but ring of purple seemed to pulse from the centre of the rock.

“Oh! What is this? Its perfect!” Kurudan clapped like a little kid that got a new toy, “This will be my best creation!”

But Han Ling placed something else on the desk. A purple crystal that seemed to eat light.

“This is a Void Essence, please add this into the sword.” Kurudan picked up the crystal and whistled, “Void? I’ve never heard of an element like that, I’ll do my best young man.”

Han Ling nodded, “How long will you take?” Kurudan tapped his shaggy beard, “Hmmm, I may need at least a few weeks to be able to repair a sword of this calibre.”

“Alright, please complete it as soon as possible.”

Han Ling left the blacksmith, blinking into the forest and sitting on a slab. He pulled out the Glimmering Pearl Blade and General Gavan’s Sword.

[Fusion]

Both swords exploded into particles of light, and those particles fused together. A bright glow blinded Han Ling.

The light formed into a shape, and disappeared, revealing a cool blue sword, beautiful white blade, and a gold, pearl-like handle with a blue crystal embedded in the centre.

Han Ling held the blade, a grin on his face. A gust of wind blew by but he could smell a faint scent of salt in the air.

Ocean Pearl Blade (Esoteric Epic)

Type: One-handed Sword

Rarity: Unique

Attack Damage: +742

Remarks: A sword created by fusing General Gavan’s Sword and the Glimmering Pearl Blade. Utilize the power of the Ocean and sweep your enemies at once…

Passive Skills:

Water Control: Masterful control over water.

Hydro Edge: All attacks down by the sword deals 50% water damage.

Hydro Turf: When user is under water or wet, +40% ATK.

Active Skills:

Torrential Twister: Fires a twister in a 50-meter range, damage ramps up after every second, reaching 500% of magic attack. CD: 5 minutes.

Unstoppable Wave: Attacks are unable to be blocked for 5 minutes, all damage +50%. CD: 40 minutes.

Wave Surge: Slashes horizontally, sending a sword wave forward, dealing more damage the further the sword wave moves. Maximum distance is 50 meters. CD 5 minutes.

Ocean Splitter: A slash that cuts through the oceans… An overhead slash that deals 500% damage as true damage. If attack hits but doesn’t kill opponent, player will suffer a temporary backlash of -10% of all stats for a period of time. CD 1 day.

Ocean Declaration: Forms a circle 50 meters in diameter, enhancing all hydro skills and techniques by 20%, all damage is reduced by 20%.

Han Ling touched the blade, feeling the hydro energy coursing through the cold metal. “This would be perfect in Sea battles.”

“Time to test it out…”