Outworld: Awakening

[You have entered a dungeon]

Adam's gaze wandered around his new surroundings. With each passing second, his brows creased further.

Having spent the last week gathering information via the Thieves of the Night, he knew what to expect from the Valar Pits. However, standing in the dungeon itself was a different scenario entirely.

Intricate, delicate, sculpture of silky red threads, bejeweled with dew like in the watery light of early morning surrounded him.

A thing of such beauty that if you had never seen one before, or knew of it's maker, you'd think it the work of a mischievous angel.

'Of all places. The portal had to throw me up in the nest of the black spiders.'

Territorial creatures famed for their brutality, the black spiders were known carnivores who enjoyed the flesh of humans most among all their preys.

'According to the Intel, the baccarra's den should be after the swamps. That means, I would have...'

Midthought, hundreds of red lanterns glowed in the distance.

'System, retrieve Cataclysm from the Inventory. Hurry!'

Adam knew what had arrived. Those weren't lanterns, rather those were the eyes of the black spiders.

Adam's gripped tightened around Cataclysm as soon as it appeared. The red luminescence inched closer with each breath he took. Although subtle, he could see the vibrating threads. The spiders would emerge any moment.

[Three Hundred Potential Sources of Danger Detected!]

[Establishing Connection to The Omen...]

[Connection Successfully Established.]

{Title}

- Manipulator (activated).

- Dominator (activated).

- Illusionist (activated).

{Skill}

- Summoner (activated).

- Illusion Inducement (activated).

Adam's irises glowed blue while the whites in his eyes slowly turned pitch-black.

At that same moment, however, the earth underneath Adam's feet rumbled. Webs thicker than ropes wrapped themselves around his feet. Upturned, Adam hung from the ceiling of the cave.

Five feet in height, with a length and width of three feet. Hundreds of black spiders revealed themselves. Ink black with reddish hairy legs, some continuously shot webs from their spinnerets. While others raced along the threads towards Adam, and a black foul smelling liquid dripped from in between their razor-sharp fangs.

four spiders launched into midair, each targeted a part of Adam's body. With mere inches separating Adam from a world of pain, the surrounding air distorted. Adam's body visibly warped. Before the spiders could comprehend what had happened, a massive fist landed on one spider. Its shriek echoed in all directions as its body smashed the ground. It died upon impact. The same fate met the other three spiders.

Adam had transformed into a horned monstrosity before the eyes of the spiders.

Adam's Familiar landed on the corpses of the monsters. It black eyes slowly scanned the nest, striking fear into the creatures. All the spiders stopped in their tracks as their ghastly eyes met the Familiar's.

Their apprehension only lasted for a moment. A shrill cry followed and all the creatures charged towards the Familiar. With a beastial war cry of its own, the Familiar charged towards the spiders with reckless abandon.

With its claws, the Familiar ripped apart the spiders with no mercy. Everywhere it went, destruction followed.

Some spiders shot their webs towards the rampaging Familiar, however, it tore through the webs like a hot knife through butter. Within seconds, over fifty spiders had met their ends, with their corpses littering the ground.

Not all the corpses appeared the same. Some had varying degrees of injuries on their bodies, while the corpses of others visibly mummified. The spiders couldn't comprehend why they were losing even with their superior numbers. Although they attacked from all angles, the same outcome followed.

The monsters once again launched themselves towards the Familiar, this time in greater numbers. The Familiar only focused on the spiders in front of it, ignoring those at its flank and rear.

With a few inches separating the spiders and the Familiar, two red streaks whizzed through the air. Everywhere it passed through, the spiders either imploded or mummified. Blood, glistening like topaz, spattered all over the walls of the cave. The Familiar, on the other hand, left a gory mess behind. Despite the best efforts of the creatures, their fangs couldn't penetrate its skin.

A few minutes later, Adam and his Familiar stood at the center of the corpse ridden nest.

Name: Adam Staples.

Age: Seventeen.

Race: Human & Demonkin.

{Stats}

Constitution: 5. Agility: 10. Endurance: 12. Luck: 0.5

Dexterity: 12. Strength: 12. Charisma: 5.

{Skills}

Summoning.

Illusion Inducement.

{Title}

- Manipulator.

- Illusionist.

- Devourer.

- Dominator.

- Slayer (Passive).

???

{Status}

Awakened!

{Omen Points}

12.

{Inventory}

- Cataclysm, Runed Blade of Delusions.

- Fermo Crystal (89/89).

- Eyes of Pink-eyed Goblins (76/76).

- Slime sac (89/88)

- Goblin chief Spectre (4/4).

- Hunch sac (72/73).

{Level}

-D.

???

'My Omen Points have risen again. If my guess is correct, when I acc.u.mulate enough, I should be able to level up to Rank C. Unfortunately, I don't know how many Omen Points required for the upgrade.'

With a thought, the Familiar disappeared into his inventory.

'I would have loved to take a vile or two of their blood, but I can't waste time here. I can't let those bastards from Raventhorn have their way with the baccarras.'

Adam took one final look at the corpses, before sprinting towards the depths of the nest. With Manipulator deactivated, he had returned to his original appearance.

* * *

In another part of the dungeon, Hendrix's party found themselves in a room filled with glistening rocks.

"Hendrix, do we wait for Chadwick? Won't we be in trouble for leaving him behind?" Amara asked.

Her eyes roamed their new surroundings. Although surrounding by beauties gemstones, none of them had any intentions of pillaging.

"Who knows what would have happened if we delayed. He made his decision, and we made ours. Let's not bother ourselves with him. Completing the mission is our priority."

He didn't focus on Amara; instead, his eyes lingered on the ash covered ground.

"Having him here would have made our job easier, though. Although the guy is a vindictive asshole, he can do a decent job against the Ashworms. Remember, we have to kill their leader before we can complete the mission. With only the four of us, it would be more difficult."

Fien, Amara and Hendrix shifted their gaze towards Mavis. Despite his deep voice, he had a feminine appearance. That he wore makeup and several feminine accessories would only make people assume he was indeed a woman. He donned a slight smile as he stared at the trio.

Hendrix couldn't dispute his words. Although they weren't severely handicapped by Chadwick's absence; his presence would have enabled them complete their mission faster.

"Well, the idiot isn't here. There is no need talking about him. Let's do what we came here for and leave. This place makes my skin crawl." Fien punctuated the silence.

Her relationship with Hendrix would never allow her to admit he made a mistake not bring Chadwick along.

Mavis smiled, but said nothing further. Amara, on the other hand, pouted when she saw the way Fien defended Hendrix.

"Thanks, Fien. I understand what you guys means, and I'm sorry for forcing you all into our current situation. However, we have to forget about Chadwick, at least for now. Remember what they told us in the academy. The creatures here are not our only adversaries. Let's complete the mission and leave. Okay?"

That Hendrix openly apologized for his error didn't come as a surprise to the group. It was one of several reasons he had been chosen ahead of Chadwick as the group's leader.

"All right, Hendrix. Where do we go?" Mavis asked.

"According to the information Varidan's Representative gave us, we should..."

The ground rumbled as Hendrix's words trialed off. Some glistening rocks and gemstones surrounding the group slowly disintegrated into ash.

The group's demeanor turned serious as they huddled together. Fien wield two daggers while Amara's grip tightened around her short sword. Hendrix's body doubled in size as his tattoos glowed. Mavis, on the other hand, slowly transformed. Thick bushy beards covered his delicate cheeks and jawline, while his flowing black hair curled, each strand moving as if it was alive.

"Amara, you and Fein will deal damage on the ashworms. Mavis, you will stay here with me. You'll use your Blessing to attack them from distance. With the protection of the moon, you guys can fight without worry. Mavis, part of your job is ensuring they don't get to me. Prepare yourselves, everyone. They're coming."

Hendrix closed his eyes as he chanted words akin to Buddhist sutras.

"Ladies, I'll give the commands since Chadwick isn't here. We must eliminate the ashworms swiftly. Once they climb up to feed, don't show them any mercy. Remember, the ashworm with the blue armor is the leader. That's our target. The other will disperse once its dead," Mavis said.

At that same moment, the air above the group distorted, and a crescent moon appeared. Hendrix's body turned silver as moon's radiance fell on the group.

'Even though this isn't my first time of bathing under the moon, I can't believe it can boost my Blessing by ten percent. I can't believe an E ranked Awakened can induce such an effect.'

Subconsciously, Mavis stared at Hendrix. He couldn't mask the admiration in his eyes.

"Mavis, don't let anything happen to Hendrix, okay?"

Mavis snapped backed to reality, "Don't worry, Fien. Nothing will get passed..."

Before Mavis could finish his statement, the earth behind Hendrix caved in. Within seconds, a gray ten-feet-long earthworm-like creature revealed itself. It had a segmented body while its skin looked like it was forged from reinforced steel. Razor-sharp teeth akin to daggers filled the mouth of the ashworm.

Before Mavis could react, the ashworm pounced on Hendrix. With its mouth opened, it intended to swallow Hendrix whole.

With a few inches separating it from Hendrix, a silver barrier coated Hendrix's body. At that same moment, a blinding sword light followed.

The ashworm stopped in midair, green blood poured from one of its segments. A split second later, the ashworm divided into two, with blood gushing into the air like a fountain.

"Focus, Mavis!" Fien said.

Her eyes had turned bloodshot while her daggers had turned green. Thick veins appeared all over her forehead turning her normal face grim. Under the bathing of the moon, she had decapitated the ashworm with one strike.

Mavis and Amara's gaze landed on her hands. Her dagger had formed roots, which burrowed into Fien's skin. Using her blood as the catalyst for her attack.

Although only a rank D Awakened, she possessed a rare Blessing. Any weapon she wielded could feed on her blood, giving the weapon a life of its own. The ferocity of her attack increased the more blood she sacrificed.

However, such a Blessing came with its own drawback. If she losses too much blood, she would die.

The ground rumbled once more and a series of ear deafening explosions followed. Mavis jumped into midair, landing behind Hendrix. Meanwhile, Amara and Fien stepped forward.

Seven ashworms, including their leader revealed themselves. Usually, they only surfaced when the gemstone and rocks disintegrated to ash, since it served as their food. However, with Hendrix and his party present. They l.u.s.ted after their bodies, after all, meat was a rare delicacy for them.

The leader and four ashworms lunged towards Amara and Fien, while the other two attacked Mavis who stood before Hendrix.

Amara's arms bulged as she charged towards the creatures. Although she was only a D ranked Awakened, she possessed one of the best Blessings for the an attack class Awakened—Super strength.

Mustering all her strength, she unleashed a furious strike. Her attack sliced the two ashworms in its path into multiple pieces. Her attack matched Fien's in sheer power, however, Fien's couldn't match its destructive prowess.

Mavis, on the other hand, remained like an unshakeable mountain in front of Hendrix. His hair and beard had turned into spikes. Despite the steel-like skins of the worms, Mavis attack perforated the ashworms.

A minute later, the corpses of all the ashworms lay on the ground. However, none of the attacking party ceased their assault.

"Keep hitting them. As long as the ash remains, they will keep on regenerating. We have to hold on for just two more minutes. That's Hendrix's limit," Mavis said.

The ash on the ground slowly gathered towards the moon floating over Hendrix's head.

The armored skin of the ashworms slowly weakened. They struggled to reattach their broken segments, however, the attacks of the trio wouldn't let them.

Slowly, their armored skins lost its l.u.s.ter, and it turned to that of a typical worm. The blue ashworm had turned gray. A small section of it's skin had lost its armor, too.

Meanwhile, Hendrix's Blessing had gathered over ninety percent of the ash in the area. Just a bit more, the ashworms wouldn't have anything to aid their regeneration.

A few seconds later, only the leader of the ashworms remained. It had lost its armor and was on the verge of death.

Fien lay on the ground ashen faced. Her breathing was faint. Amara had dropped to one knee. Her eyes lingered on the ashworm. The only reason they could rest was because Hendrix had successfully absorbed all the ash on ground.

Mavis too, sat on the ground. His face had returned to normal, albeit with no makeup. Only Hendrix remained standing, and he no longer chanted the sutras.

The moon slowly disappeared, and Hendrix opened his eyes. At that same moment, however, unseen by everyone present, a new tattoo appeared on Hendrix's body.

"Good job everybody. I will take care of the rest," Hendrix said.

Mavis plummeted on his back while giving Hendrix a thumbs up. Hendrix smiled as he slowly approached Amara and Fien's location.

"I will heal you guys once I retrieve the orb. Please just wait a little bit more."

Hendrix took one of Fien's dagger before approaching the head of the ashworm. Wasting no time, he ripped apart the head of the creature, only stopping when the dagger met an obstruction.

'We did it. We have passed our first mission.'

A smile donned Hendrix's lips as he stared at the blue orb. As he grabbed the orb, it disappeared into thin air. A new tattoo had formed on Hendrix's body.

"I got the orb guys. Let's get out..."

An ear deafening whip crack echoed before Adam could finish his statement. His vision turned hazy and his mind went blank. He fell face first to the ground, and he couldn't feel or move his limbs. His companions also lay on the floor motionless. They didn't even have the power to speak.

"Hahaha... Congratulations on passing your first mission, Hendrix. It's too bad you met an unfortunate accident at the end."

'Chadwick?' Hendrix could recognize the annoying laugh and voice even in his dreams.

At that same moment, the space in front of Hendrix distorted, and eleven individuals emerged. One held a cloak which made the others undetectable and invisible.

'Aren't these… What the hell has this idiot done?' Apart from Chadwick, Hendrix recognized Curtis and Cale.

"C-Cha… C-cha—"

"I don't care what you have to say, Hendrix. Hand over the orb if you value Fien's life. I won't ask twice."

Chadwick smirked as he stared at Hendrix bloodshot eyes.

"What are you are you going to do? This is what you deserve. You're just a mere rank E worm, yet you wanted to bite more than you could chew. None of this would have happened if you knew your place. Last time, give me the orb, or else…"

Chadwick felt good staring at Hendrix in his powerless state. As a rank D Awakened, he felt insulted when Hendrix emerged as the leader of their party. He felt so much anger that he deliberately spread rumors about Hendrix, Fein and Amara.

"Hmmm… Friend, or should we call you Chadwick? I hope you remember our end of the bargain?"

Chadwick slowly turned his head and his gaze met Cale's smiles. He couldn't hide his irritation.

"You can take their amulets. I'm busy right now."

"Uhm… What about the ladies?" Cale asked as he scratched the back of his head. He couldn't hide the l.u.s.t in his eyes.

'How could they think of something like that in such a place? Don't they… huh?'

"Sure. You can do whatever you like with them," Chadwick retorted.

His disposition changed after he noticed Hendrix's reaction. He didn't give a damn about the others, but he would never miss an opportunity to mess with Hendrix.

Cale and Curtis smiled. They motioned to their underlings to retrieve the amulets and the women, including Mavis who they assumed was female.

"Chad-Chadwick… Please… don't…"

The blue orb appeared in front of Hendrix as he struggled to speak. Chadwick totally ignored him, even if he failed the mission, Hendrix suffering was a greater achievement.

"Hahaha… Speak up, Hendrix. What are you—huh?" Chadwick suddenly felt a tug on his uniform.

A scowl distorted his face, he wondered if Cale and Curtis were idiots to the extent they had to disturb for everything.

"What do you want now!" Chadwick barked.

"Chadwick, we are friends. Friends to don't scream at each other. We have collected the amulets of the others—"

"Why the f.u.c.k are you telling me that? What does that have to do with me? Can't—"

"Chadwick, we need the amulet of your buddy. That's okay, right?" Curtis and Cale still maintained the same amiable smile.

Their reaction only further enraged Chadwick. He retrieved Hendrix's amulet from his pocket, before tossing it at Cale.

"You two can f.u.c.k off now," Chadwick said.

"No problem, Chadwick. However, we still have one more amulet to go," Cale retorted.

'Huh? What the hell are they talking about? There is no one here apart from…'

A sudden realization dawned on Chadwick and his right hand reached for his whip.

"I wouldn't do that, Chadwick. My archers will fill you with holes if you touch it. Easy now. We only want the amulet and the orb. There is no need for this to turn messy."

Chadwick's hand paused as he heard Cale's words.

"B-But, we had a deal. How could—"

"Of course we did. Now we are breaking it. Did you really think we would allow any of you to return? C'mon, Chadwick. If we did that, what's stopping you from recounting another version of today's events to Varidan Academy? My small guild can't compete with them yet. But with your contributions, we would be a step closer. Don't worry, we will always remember you."

Caught up in his ploy to eliminate Hendrix, Chadwick hadn't realized Cale and Curtis were using him, too.

"Don't kill me. Please, don't kill me. I can give you money. My uncle is a minster in Vohir. He can give you a lot of money." Chadwick presented his amulet and the orb as he pleaded.

"You're not helping your case, Chadwick. You're only strengthening our resolve to kill you. Don't worry, you will have a lot of company. Only one more amulet to go. When we find him, we'll send him to join you. Thanks again—"

Cale paused as he heard clapping. It startled him and everyone, especially when no one could identify the source.

"Who is there?! Show your—"

"There is no need to shout. You guys are looking for me, right? Well, I have saved you the trouble. Here I am."

{Skill}

- Illusion inducement (deactivated).

Curtis and Cale's eyes and that of their companions bulged as Adam appeared out of thin air. His blue irises glowed while the whites in his eyes had turned black, and darkness covered his arms, extending all the way to his neck like a demon from hell.

[Establishing Connection to The Omen...]

[Connection Successfully Established.]

[Title: Devour Activated!]

"I have waited for this day, Adam. So many delicacies in front of us. Let's have a feast, Adam. Let's kill them all!"