Outworld: Awakening

A Few Minutes Earlier.

With Manipulator activated, coupled with his half mask, Adam hid his identity once more. His eyebrows creased as he stared at the muddy earth.

'I knew it. My luck couldn't be that good. It seems they have already started their hunt.'

One one needed to tell Adam the boot footprints belonged to the Awakened from Raventhorn. He had already wasted valuable time when he carried Hendrix and his party members to safety. Although he hoped he would arrive before Gallien's party, he knew only a miracle could make that a reality.

'Well, it changes nothing. In fact, it's better they are ahead. Let them do all the hard work, then I will swoop in for the reward. As the de facto leader of Thieves of the Night, it's time to behave like one.'

Adam smirked underneath his mask.

Wasting no time, he unleashed a frightening burst of speed.

A few seconds later, Adam came to a screeching stop as he hid behind a large rock.

'What are they doing? Are they members of Raventhorn?'

Adam's eyes lingered on three individuals who stood before the swamp.

On a closer look at the trio, he noticed that they actively gathered swamp viper corpses.

'Oh. This must be the work of Raventhorn. These guys are here to profit from their leftovers.'

Since Gallien had boldly declared the intentions of his guild, different parties who initially had plans to hunt the baccarras thought of how they could profit from Raventhorn.

Unable to hide their delight, the three men gathered swamp vipers corpses, while sporting beaming smiles.

Although their bones and skins weren't as valuable as the baccarra's, it commanded a decent price in Gido's underground market.

"Woode, you were right. Who would have thought we would get such a hurl doing nothing? Hahaha..."

"Welby, keep your voice down. We don't want anymore to hear us. Hurry. Let's gather as many as possible. Tonight, we are going to wild."

Woode grinned, revealing his wooden teeth.

His companions ceased their chatter. With renewed vigor, the trio retrieved the corpses of the slain creatures from the periphery of the swamp.

'If I reveal myself, these guys might want to pick a fight with me. It seems I'll have to use illusion inducement again,' Adam thought.

Although valuable, he wasn't interested in the swamp vipers.

At that same moment, however, Woode's voice reached him.

"Huh? What the hell is that? Is the swamp bubbling?"

"What are you...? My god. It really is bubbling. Woode, Prame, let's get the hell out of here," Welby said.

From where Adam hid, he couldn't see the bubbling swamp. From what he read about the Valar Pits, there wasn't anything related to a bubbling section of the swamp.

[Potential Sources of Danger Detected]

[Establishing Connection to The Omen...]

[Connection Successfully Established.]

"Prame, what are you doing? Let's get out of here," Welby said.

"I hear ya. Just let me get this last one. It shouldn't make a difference."

"Forget about it. Don't be greedy," Welby retorted.

'Who's calling who greed? If you don't want it, I'll gladly take it.' Prame sneered as he reached for the corpse.

Prame ignored Welby's words and proceed retrieve the corpse of another swamp viper. The more corpses they gathered, the greater their profit.

Just then, the swamp viper moved. It wasn't dead, it had only been knocked out earlier.

Prame flinched as he retreated, however, the swamp viper was faster. It twisted before making a beeline for Prame's neck. Prame knew he couldn't evade it's attack, and he instinctively closed his eyes. However, the pain he expected didn't come.

"What the f.u.c.k are you still standing around for? Get over here you greedy bum!"

Prame opened his eyes as he heard Woode's voice. In front of him, an arrow impaled the swamp viper through its open maw.

Reorganizing his thoughts, Prame turned around. He had no intentions of picking anymore corpses.

"Prame, watch out!"

Prame could see the horror in Woode and Welby's eyes. Before he could comprehend what was going on, over eight swamp vipers assaulted him.

Before Welby and Woode could assist him, some swamp vipers they thought had died pounced on the duo. Tens of swamp vipers emerged from the swamp, they strangled and bit the screaming trio until they took their last breath.

A few seconds later, the vipers dragged the corpses of the trio into the swamp.

[Skill: Illusion Inducement deactivated]

The space before the perimeter of the swamp wrapped, revealing Adam.

'I thought those vipers were dead too. Did they purposely knock out some vipers? They are craftier than I thought. But, where is the bubbling they talked about?' Adam mused.

Earlier, Gallien had predicted some parties would try to profit from their hunt. Hence, he asked Vacatus to use his Blessing on some of the swamp vipers. He would never let another party take the spoils of his work, even if he didn't need it.

'System, using the previous template, switch to my agility mode.'

[Agility mode activated]

Name: Adam Staples.

Age: Seventeen.

Race: Human & Demonkin.

{Stats}

Constitution: 15. Agility: 30. Endurance: 22. Luck: 2.5

Dexterity: 5. Strength: 18. Charisma: 0.

Unleashing a frightening turn of speed, Adam jumped from one tree to the other. He had no intention of fighting the swamp vipers.

A few moments later, Adam had crossed the midway point of the swamp. From his position on the tree, he could see the baccarra's den ahead.

'Should I wait for them here, or should wait at the baccarra's den?'

[Potential Source of Danger Detected]

Just then, a crimson glow illuminated the swamp's bubbling waters. It terrified Adam, because a devastating heat wave accompanied the crimson luminescence.

'This heat... surely, it couldn't be... right?'

A dangerous sense of foreboding welled up in Adam's mind. He had to intentions of ambushing Gallien and his men anymore, especially if the crimson glow meant what he thought.

At that same moment, however, a series of explosions rocked the swamp. Adam tilted his head to the side, only to find a raging inferno blocking his path of retreat.

Woode, Prame and Welby's mangled corpses floated to the surface with tens of charred swamp vipers accompany it.

'How the hell did they get in. This wasn't in the f.u.c.k.i.n.g report.'

Hiding within the murky waters, Adam could see the crimson eyes of several magma salamanders.

'System, retrieve Cataclysm and the Familiar from my Inventory.'

Adam's visage slowly changed. His Familiar towered over him from behind while Cataclysm appeared in his hands.

With another battle imminent, Adam shifted from his agility mode to his combat mode. With most of his stats concentrated on his agility, strength and endurance.

Seven magma salamanders reared their heads from the swamp's waters. Their eyes glistened as they stared at Adam. To them, he wasn't just another prey they had to get rid of. Rather, they felt a deep hatred towards him, one that originated from the very depths of their souls. No matter the cost, they had to get rid of him.

Adam locked gazes with the monsters. One didn't need to tell him their intentions.

"Handle the ones this side, I'll handle the others."

The Familiar nodded in silence. It dived towards the magma salamanders. Within seconds, all hell broke loose in the swamp.

Out of their preferred habitat, the magma salamanders couldn't use magma related attacks. However, they could breathe fireballs like dragons.

No matter what they did, Adam easily evaded their attacks. However, they weren't as lucky. Cataclysm whizzed through the air, it's twin axes mummified or imploded anything it touched.

To Adam's disbelief, the magma salamander's numbers only increased, and they assaulted him from every angle. Their actions had gone beyond territorial warfare; instead, the Demonkins had turned suicidal.

With Manipulator, Illusionist, and Dominator activated, Adam drifted through the flaming battleground like a Grimm Reaper. Anywhere he appeared, death followed.

* * *

"Sir, what do we do?" Aron asked.

Like the others, he couldn't avert his eyes from the destruction ahead.

'This is going to be problematic... They outnumber us significantly, it's not possible for all of us to survive.'

Gallien's gaze shifted between his men and Adam who fought ahead.

"Sir, are we—?"

"We are forming two groups. Boko, Aron, Vacatus and I, will comprise the first group. The rest of you will comprise the second group," Gallien declared.

The countenance of his men darkened. They weren't idiots, they knew Gallien had only chosen the people he deemed valuable.

Gallien didn't give a damn about his men's reaction or their thoughts. If possible, he would have preferred to lead all of them to safety, but since the magma salamanders significantly outnumbered their group, it wasn't something he was confident he could accomplish.

"I don't care what you lot think. The success of the mission outweighs all of our lives. Unfortunately, we didn't prepare for such a scenario. So, try your best to survive. We'll meet at the dungeon's exit. Let's leave now that the creatures aren't focused on us."

Gallien's group unleashed a frightening speed after his declaration. Their actions caught the sixteen Awakened by surprise, however, it only lasted for a moment. To increase their odds of survival, they too, formed smaller groups, before running towards their d.e.s.i.r.ed path.

'These bastards think they can use me as bait, huh?'

Adam sneered as he saw the Awakened from Raventhorn break into five groups. He wouldn't allow them to use him as bait while they escaped.

'The only problem is findings out the group with the baccarra Queen's heart...'

Adam's gaze wandered until it landed on a particular group.

'These four reacted the quickest, and it looks like the other three are protecting the one with the bag...'

Adam smirked underneath his mask as he stared at Gallien's group.

Like a ghost, he sprinted towards their group. Naturally, over twenty magma salamanders gave chase. At that same moment, they noticed the other Awakened from Raventhorn. After what Adam and his Familiar had done, they hated anything that wasn't their kind.

Unlike Adam who had an advantage over the magma salamanders due to his Skills and Titles, the Awakened from Raventhorn experienced a one-sided annihilation at the hands of the Demonkins.

The Awakened who had a barrier related Blessing lasted the longest, however, his barrier cracked under the continuous barrage of the magma salamanders.

Only Gallien's group remained, and they too had over twenty magma salamanders surrounding them. Not too far from their location, standing back to back, Adam and his Familiar reeked havoc on the Demonkins.

Adam knew that as unranked Demonkins, the magma salamanders were just a little stronger than regular Familiars created by Èṣù. Using the Blessing Awakened ranking, they would only qualify as D rank Awakened on the verge of reaching rank C.

Having gained the rank of unranked Demonkins, Adam knew their next upgrade would propel them to Plague ranked Demonkins.

"Bastard, you did this purposely, right?!" Gallien said as he easily eliminated the magma salamanders blocking his path.

Since the Demonkins had entered a berserker state, his actions only enraged them further.

"What are you talking about? Us Awakened should stick together in times like this..."

Although Adam spoke causally, Gallien's strength and the unique nature of Vacatus's Blessing surprised him. Even with his Familiar, he wasn't certain he could take down Gallien.

"Your lucky I don't have time. If not, I'd have thought a Varidan dog like you the consequences for pissing off a higher power," Gallien said.

Four magma salamanders exploded into a gory mist as his sword light landed on them. Meanwhile, Vacatus's had knocked out a considerable number of magma salamanders. Aron protected him and Boko from the Demonkins who managed to get close to the duo.

"Higher power? Raventhorn? How can you compare that shit to Varidan?" Adam jeered.

"Shut your mouth!"

[Potential Sources of Danger Detected]

Gallien's aura suddenly exploded. His sword emitted a blinding light which covered half of the swamp.

Just then, Adam's Familiar appeared in front of him. At that same moment, however, Gallien unleashed his attack.

It obliterated everything with a hundred meters of his position. Only Adam's Familiar remained standing. However, the lights in its eyes had dimmed. Cracks covered its body, and it had lost both hands.Slowly, its upper half crumbled.

'Varidan trash... they always talk a big game.'

Gallien's cold eyes wandered in all directions, however, he could find the target of his anger.

"Boko, Aron, Vacatus, are you guys okay?"

"We ducked in time, Sir. It seems your attack has cleared a path for us, Sir. Shall we proceed?" Aron asked.

"Sure. Take the lead. Vacatus, stick close to Boko. I'll cover the rear. Let's go before..."

Gallien's countenance darkened as his word trialed off. Because, the entire swamp rumbled, and an intense heat wave spread in all directions.

'Something big is coming.'

Gallien could feel it in his gut. His breathing quickened and his grip tightened on the handle of his sword.

Each second felt like an eon as his eyes wandered around the swamp. Just then, a fifteen feet monstrosity revealed itself. Bright orange like flowing magma, its crimson eyes met Gallien's.

Behind the Demonkin, Gallien could see over twenty magma salamanders hurrying towards their leader.

For the first time, Gallien's eyes quivered. He wasn't certain he could fight such a monster while protecting Aron, Boko and Vacatus. And, from the aura the magma salamander exuded, he knew they were on the same level.

"Aron, Vacatus, do everything you can to make sure Boko gets out of here."

"S-Sir, w-what about—"

"Do as you're told. Leave now!" Gallien commanded.

Aron said nothing further. The trio fled at the fastest speed they could muster. Leaving Gallien to face the incoming horde.

Meanwhile, further behind the larger magma salamander, unseen by anyone, two Demonkins disappeared into the murky waters below.

[Establishing Connection to The Omen...]

[Connection Successfully Established.]

[Title: Devourer activated!]