Chapter 79: The Second Ability

“What is it now?” Constantine had little interest in dwelling on this issue further.

This being that had suddenly appeared always made Constantine deeply wary. The power it had freely given before was indeed convenient—like that unique vision and the strange, almost spell-like ability that had inexplicably surfaced. It had helped the youth in many ways, but Constantine did not consider that a good thing. The young man, whose mind was sharp but whose heart was dark, did believe in miracles, but he did not believe they would happen to him for no reason. Sudden benefits always hid some ulterior secret. Most importantly, Constantine simply did not believe this being was the deity it claimed to be.

“Thou seemest… to harbor fear and doubt towards Us.” The self-proclaimed deity seemed somewhat displeased with the youth’s wary attitude, but it still offered the old condition: “To speak plainly, if We could now perform a Divine Miracle to deliver thee from peril, would thou then believe in Us and offer Us thy devotion?”

“Can devotion be obtained through exchange? Can even some being whose name I don’t know receive devotion? And what use would my devotion be to an existence like yours?” Constantine sneered. He was now almost certain the other had been waiting for this dangerous opportunity all along, and clearly, it had succeeded.

“Devotion is but a description, describing the degree of a human’s reliance on a certain power… and a name is but a title.” The mysterious being seemed fully aware of the resentment in the youth’s heart. It spoke with a trace of a sigh. “Open thy heart. We assure thee, even when thy Soul ultimately leaves the Prime Material Plane… it will not be taken by the River Styx. Thou shalt come to Our side. Thou shalt forever cast off the shackles of mortality and gain eternal life!”

“Eternal life?” Undeniably, the being’s words caused a slight tremor in Constantine’s thoughts. The term ‘eternal life’ had become incredibly tempting to him now. However, after a moment’s hesitation, he resisted the temptation. “Even if it were real eternal life, it would just be eternal slavery. That is not what I wish for.”

“The strong rule, the weak are ever but slaves… only, some masters are lenient, some masters are stingy, so what slaves possess varies… but above the strong, there are stronger still. So-called strong ones are also slaves—respected by those below, but slaves to those above… Didst thou not say that what one can accept and cannot accept is all fate? Yet thou, who still obeys fate’s arrangement, art thou not its slave?” The self-proclaimed deity sneered. “We know what thou fearest… In truth, We require nothing of thee. What happens in this world is of no concern to Us. However, We wish for thee to bring Us more amusement.”

“Amusement?”

“Yes. Although discovered by chance, We have not seen an existence as interesting as thee in a very long time… especially thy mind. For tens of thousands of years, We have not seen any creation possess such reason and madness… as if not from this world.” Perhaps to prove its point, the oppressive feeling in the voice began to lessen. “Of course, thou mayest still hold to thy thoughts. We have patience.”

“I still believe that when people try to gain something, they must pay a corresponding price.” The being’s words, which edged close to the truth, startled Constantine. A thought flickered in his mind, and he tested, “Or do you offer a ‘try before you buy’ deal here?”

“If thou insistest… Since thou believest more in this transactional manner, then We need not insist… Then, a Believer, of whatever kind, shall deliver the devotion of one Soul into My hand, as the price for this time We help thee escape danger…” The voice within the black flames paused, then proposed a strange, yet not overly troublesome condition.

“Then… I agree…” After brief thought, Constantine responded. It seemed this self-proclaimed deity often offered such terms—likely the same reason Vernal had pushed him onto its altar.

“Very well. Now, let us speak of thy reward… Previously, We lent thee vision. What shall it be this time? In thy current state, what thou canst bear is far too little… I have it. Then, it shall be sensation…” The voice paused. Then a strange warmth spread through the youth’s body once more, but the sensation made Constantine shiver involuntarily. It felt as if something was being pulled from his body at that moment. But soon, the emptiness was filled.

Fortune or misfortune… Constantine muttered to himself with a bitter smile.

“Remember, do not waste Our trust. Otherwise, that fellow within thy body knows the consequences.” The voice, though still grand, no longer used such archaic terms. As its words fell, the swaying black flames surged violently! The countless Demon faces contained within rapidly enlarged before Constantine’s eyes! In an instant, they covered his entire field of vision again!

Constantine was horrified. The thought of struggle had just risen in his heart when the mass of black mist began merging into his body. A deep crimson immediately clouded his sight… like blood about to dry. The crimson, with his breath, turned to pitch black, but soon faded again. Constantine opened his mouth to shout, but saw a stream of black-red mist spray out with his exhale.

“What I gave thee is merely an advance. If thou likest this ability, then contact Me. I shall be watching thee…” The booming voice gradually weakened. But the boy, wracked with pain, did not listen carefully to the details. “At least tell me your name?”

He shouted, but received only an ambiguous response: “Clever little one… We shall not give thee Our name now… One day, when thou needest power and finally offerest Us thy loyalty, it shall serve as the key to the connection…”

The voice gradually faded. The raging black flames dwindled and finally vanished from Constantine’s sight in a flash. Then, Constantine saw the burly man who had attacked him.

The man’s gaze was fixed on the boy’s neck. In his tightly clenched hand was a short dagger. The diamond-shaped blade was short but carried an eerie blue sheen. The front of the blade had a row of fine serrations. If stabbed, even thick leather would likely be sliced open instantly! In fact, if one ignored the Greatsword, the burly man looked more like a Rogue than a warrior. His dark brown leather armor was light, simple, and well-maintained, but it couldn’t hide the marks of long years. Constantine could even clearly see several fine cracks on it.

Being able to notice so many useful and useless details in the face of imminent danger wasn’t because Constantine was heartless or idle. It was because the other’s movements were in a state of complete standstill.

So the surprised youth immediately twisted his body to dodge, but he then noticed his own movements seemed like frames in a paused film… This feeling was strange… as if… someone had suddenly sped up the clock inside his body, making the passage of time in the surrounding world slow down. Only his consciousness moved normally.

No, it should be said everything around seemed in this strange state… That exquisite dagger was still approaching Constantine, but the speed was equally incredibly slow. The youth could easily see every grain on the metal surface, and specks of brown like dried blood.

These thoughts lasted only an instant in his mind. There wasn’t much time to consider this now. Although the weapon seemed to move as slow as a turtle’s crawl to his eyes, Constantine believed if struck by that vicious thing, he would still die!

Rip! Amid the sharp sound of tearing cloth, the Human Mercenary who emerged from the invisible Barrier still wore a cruel smile on his lips. The dagger in his hand was clearly his killing move. The unwipeable bloodstains on it showed many had died by this sinister method.

The short blade instantly pierced the cloak. Unfortunately, that was as far as it went. A ripple appeared in the air, followed by a nearly imperceptible sound! Then, his weapon, along with the hand holding it, flew into the air trailing a string of dark blood beads!

Narrating this takes time, but in reality, to an onlooker like the Blood Elf, it was but a brief moment—the invisible Barrier in the air was broken by flying sand, and simultaneously Constantine, as if guided by a ghost, lowered his head, dodging a Greatsword swung from within the Barrier. The Greatsword’s owner, a Human Mercenary, instead drew a poisoned dagger and stabbed at him, but this movement paused inexplicably. Finally, a faint sound only the sharp hearing of an Elf could catch flashed through the air, and the burly man’s left hand, still holding the dagger, separated from his body!

The sudden situation stunned the mercenary, but the gushing blood quickly brought him to his senses. He let out a roar of rage and pain, leaping backward. At the same time, he turned his wrist, swinging the Greatsword at the youth before him with only one hand! But this action also came at a great cost. A tremendous force transmitted from his hand; the pain from his severed hand made him unable to grip the Greatsword firmly. He could only watch as his weapon strangely turned mid-air and flew off to the other side!

“Young Master Constantine.” A figure slowly emerged from behind the carriage. The butler’s attire, black as its base, was neat and proper, not a speck of dust upon it. His body seemed somewhat stooped, but his movements were precise, like the drip of a water clock.

Constantine stayed silent. His mind seemed still immersed in the truth he had just witnessed. This was the first time the youth truly saw the Old Steward’s weapon. Several thin, thread-like things danced in the air, about as thick as guitar strings. Their translucent material almost blended with the surrounding air, appearing fragile. Yet, this seemingly breakable thing—with just one strand coiled around that dagger—made the other unable to thrust it down! The dagger, gleaming sharply in the sunlight, seemed utterly helpless against that thread.

Then came another strand, sharp as a blade’s edge. With a slight pause, it had already sliced through human flesh, turning that hand holding the vicious weapon into a lifeless piece of dead meat!

“Is this… your so-called ability?” Constantine wondered inwardly. He found that the more he focused all his mind, the clearer this feeling became. With a slight contemplation, the youth began to understand the situation before him—in certain life-or-death crises, ordinary people had a tiny chance of experiencing a wonderful sensation, the extreme of heightened senses… often called the extension of time perception. This rare phenomenon often appeared in films and stories as a basic theory for certain effects.

Or perhaps it should be called… bullet time?

And what that being had given him was the ability to freely control this sensation.

A glow representing a Teleportation Spell flashed. The mercenary’s figure flickered within it and then vanished! Clearly, he was an experienced veteran. Judging the enemy before him unbeatable, he could abandon everything to save his life. A Teleportation Scroll was costly.

In contrast, his companion who had just knocked down the female archer wasn’t so clever. He was now charging towards the three people beside the carriage, a large axe held high overhead!

Its bloodlust for prey made a stream of foul drool drip from its mouth. Powerful muscles allowed each step to kick up dust from the ground. The large axe in its hands was clearly a fine weapon that had once belonged to some Adventurer. Although the curved blade was covered in rust from blood and tiny nicks, the thick axe head still gave it enough killing power, especially when swung by such a monster!

“Walter, leave this one to me…” Just as the Old Steward and the Blood Elf were about to raise their hands, Constantine suddenly spoke, uttering words that sounded like insane bravado.

“Are you crazy!”

The Blood Elf immediately shrieked. As an experienced Adventurer, she knew well the capabilities of the creature before them. As the largest and strongest type of Goblinoid, their aggressiveness far surpassed other similar creatures, even stronger than ordinary Human warriors. Although they were still no match for a skilled fighter, facing a mere Sorcerer boy, they were terrifying—even though Miss Nirwen often cursed this demon-like brat to die, she couldn’t let him die now, at least not before that Curse was lifted.

But by then, Constantine had already left his spot and charged directly at the howling opponent.

He flung off his blood-stained cloak. The cloth spread in the air, blocking the Bugbear’s vision. The latter roared, swatting it away, but was a step too slow. A Scimitar flashed with a dark light, and a spray of blood turned into a thin red mist in the air.

But this wound was clearly too shallow. The Bugbear, seemingly impervious to pain, swung its axe, smashing heavily towards the head of the little brat who had wounded it. The wind whistled shrilly, indicating such a blow was enough to turn that little head and body into a pulp! But the youth chose to ignore the huge, whistling axe… as if it were just a straw stick, Constantine charged forward rapidly!

The Bugbear opened its mouth to roar at this hateful Human. Suddenly, it found it couldn’t make a sound. The youth’s movements didn’t seem fast, but the Bugbear’s axe, as if choreographed, simply stopped behind him. Lowering its head, it noticed the black Adamantine weapon had pierced through its throat, cleanly passing through, tearing unprotected flesh, pausing slightly on bone, then turning viper-like, sweeping sideways, severing an artery!

Blood gushed!

Half of the Blood Elf’s scolding dissipated in the wind. She stared dumbfounded as the youth neatly flicked the blood off his Scimitar and stepped away. Then the Bugbear’s burly body crashed to the ground. The gushing blood didn’t even have a chance to stain his Hunting Attire.

“Come out! Or I’ll kill you!” Constantine narrowed his eyes slightly, not noticing his companion’s astonishment. He raised a hand towards one side and uttered a low shout. Then a Sleeve Crossbow bolt shot out with a sharp whistling sound!

The sound seemed like a spell. The previously empty space began to ripple like water. A small figure, hunched on the ground like a canine, was revealed.

Constantine frowned. He noted this small thing resembled a small lizard standing and moving more than a canine. Its slender limbs were clad in a dirty, tattered, faded short robe. A few tears revealed deep red, scaly skin underneath. Its head, resembling a lizard or crocodile but much more fragile, had bulging large eyes. The high brow bone had two small horns, showing features of a reptilian Humanoid Creature.

The youth recognized this thing—a Kobold, the symbol of cowardly creatures in the mouths of veteran Adventurers. In this world, a considerable number of powerful creatures could gain the favor of the Dragonkin, producing half-dragon offspring. Creatures with Dragon Blood would develop dragon-like scales on their surface and might develop dragon-like claws, fangs, wings, even a powerful Breath Weapon like a dragon. The creature’s own strength, intelligence, even appearance, would be noticeably improved and enhanced.

But this did not include the type before him. They usually appeared in tunnels and forests, accustomed to using crude traps, crossbows, slings, or retreat tactics to cause unnecessary trouble for Adventurers. Of course, in those people’s accounts, these little creatures either eventually ran faster than rabbits or became fertilizer for wild plants.

But this one before him seemed a bit of an exception?