Outworld: Awakening

'This is bad… he has to be the culprit behind the massacre… How can a stare make someone like me petrified?'

Unable to calm his thumping heart, Luka's breath quickened while his hands and legs trembled ever so slightly. With over twenty years of raiding experience, his honed instincts told him he stood in the presence of death itself. Meanwhile, Andre and some men had succ.u.mbed to their fear. Some lay on the floor while frothing, while others sat on the floor but could not control their trembling bodies.

Adam continued to wear the same smile, while the Familiars remained unmoving. However, their deathly gleams showed they could barely resist the urge to slaughter the men from Raventhorn.

'My heart can take this anymore… I have to do something…'

Barely regaining his calm, Luka took two steps forward before bowing his head slightly.

"S-Sir, please… we didn't mean to disturb you. I apologize on behalf of my men. They foolishly wanted to loot the spoils of your battle. Please forgive us just this once. As a show of good faith, we will give you everything in our possession…"

As Luka's words trialed off, he snuck a glance at Adam; however, his countenance soon darkened as he realized Adam wasn't even pay attention to him.

"S-Sir, please don't misunderstand. I know someone like you have no use for—"

"I have absolutely no interest in your offer. What's the point of offering something that I can take whenever I want?"

Luka's heart dropped as he heard Adam's words.

'Can we really live here with our lives? Can this situation get any worse?'

"Hey! D-Don't mess with us! D-Do you know who we are?!"

Adam and Luka diverted their gazes towards the source of the declaration. Unlike Adam who couldn't stop himself from laughing, Luka's heart sank into the abyss of despair.

'F.u.c.k.i.n.g idiot! Did his fear fry his brains?'

Luka could barely contain his rage as he stared at the youngest member of the party. That the young man struggled to even stand on his feet while declaring such an arrogant statement made him more infuriated.

"Thosan, shut your f.u.c.k.i.n.g mouth! Do—"

"Hahahaha… unfortunately, I don't have time for this. You're the leader, yes?"

"Yes," Luka replied without delay.

"Good. I'll give you a chance to save your men. All you have to do is tell me the reason for coming here. Simple enough, yes?"

Adam donned a teasing grin as he stared at Luka's face and that of his men. Their countenance had made a drastic change. Adam's words sparked the plague of hope in their hearts.

'Is that all? Something is not right here. From the condescending way he laughed earlier, he obviously has some ill intent for Raventhorn…'

Absorbed in his thoughts, Luka didn't realize the way his men stared at him had changed. Each second he delayed, their glares turned cold. All he had to do was answer a stupid question, and Adam would spare them, but here he was delaying at a critical time.

'No matter what, I can't tell him the… wait… white hair and blue eyes? It couldn't be…'

Luka suddenly stared at Adam with a scrutinizing gaze. At that moment, a sudden realization dawned on him, and his heart clenched.

'Wasn't he supposed to be dead? Wasn't he killed by Klien's group?'

Just then, a familiar voice filled Luka's ears, "We came here to gather materials to heal our Master's—"

"Andre, you idiot! He was only looking for a—"

Before Luka could finish his statement, a red blur flashed passed him. Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, Luka's head fell to the ground while a fountain of blood erupted from his neck. Andre and the other men stared wide eyed at the sudden change of events.

"Hahahaha… you guys aren't as smart as your captain… well you can go now. I promise I won't do anything to you."

While Adam's words echoed, he had already disappeared from the throne. However, fear still covered the faces of the Awakened. Because, Nokum, Salma and the other Familiars had not teleported with him.

"You lying bastard! You said you would let us—"

Before Andre finished his statement, Nokum split his body into two halves while Salma turned the remains to ash. Andre's dying words had enraged the already bloodthirsty Familiars. Wasting no time, the unranked demonkins followed. Within seconds, sickening screams filled the throne room as the Familiars killed with sadistic delight.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the tunnel, the mountain of corpses remained. However, one could see ten unconscious bodies trembling on the blood-soaked ground. Just then, the hacking cough of one man punctuated the deathly silence in the area.

'Huh? What's going on? Didn't I die?'

Dazed and confused, Luka couldn't stop himself from touching his neck. His eyes wandered in all directions, only stopping when he saw the bodies of his trembling companions.

'My god… that was an illusion? Why didn't he kill us? Was he scared that we would have reinforcement in the dungeon? Wait… if I'm awake—'

Mid-thought, Luka suddenly felt an all too familiar sensation, that of a cold steel pressing against the back of his neck.

"I have some questions for you, it would be in your best interest to answer truthfully," Adam said.

"We have over fifty men stationed in this dungeon. If you—"

"I already know that you don't have another party in this dungeon. Illusions are a beautiful thing. What you experienced differed completely from what your colleagues experienced. Unlike you, however, they were quite talkative…" Adam chuckled.

Luka's heart sank. He didn't expect such a scenario.

"What is the rank of the Raventhorn's guild leader?" Adam asked.

"She is a rank B Awakened," Luka replied in a low voice.

"What is the progress of Dominic's recovery? From the look you had earlier, it seems you recognized me… How did you know?"

Unlike before, Adam's voice was colder as he uttered his last statement.

"I don't know the current stage of the Young Master's recovery, however, I know that his life is in a perilous situation. You already know the reason we are here. We need all the miracle and healing items we can find."

Luka suddenly paused. At that same moment, his gaze lingered on Andre's body. Unlike before, it had stopped trembling; however, he had stopped breathing, too.

'How can he kill someone from an illusion? Or, is this an illusion, too?'

"If you don't cooperate, I have a thousand methods of extracting the answers from you. But trust me, you wouldn't like that. Now, answer me. How did you recognize me?"

"After the incident with Klien's group, the guild leader suspected that you might still be alive. She discreetly circulated your portrait to most of our core members. The Armstrong family also shared the same suspicion, so they created a rumor of your demise in Varidan Academy. It was their ploy to draw you out from hiding," Luka explained.

This time, it was Adam's turn to become silent. The impassive expression his face carried earlier, had disappeared. Instead, he had a chilling glow in his eyes while an indiscernible smile formed on his lips.

"Is there a bounty?"

"Yes."

"Who set it, and on what terms?"

"Lord Armstrong's second son. He's a member of the Reeves Dynasty. Two million gold if anyone can deliver your corpse, and twenty million gold if anyone can bring you to him alive."

'How did an Armstrong get into the Reeves Dynasty? Hahaha… things are getting interesting.'

In Outworld, the Reeves Dynasty was another top guild like The Knights of Bordon. However, only members of the large Reeves family could join the guild. For them to consider an outsider, they would either have to marry into the Reeves family, or they would have to public renounce their family name and serve the Reeves family for several years.

Apart from wanting to know the major players in Outworld, the other reason Adam researched on the Reeves family was because of Vicar.

"What's his rank? Does he have the backing of the Dynasty?"

'Is he laughing? Does he know what he's up against?'

Luka couldn't believe Adam remained calm after hearing the about the bounty placed on his head. That he could laugh in such a situation left him confused and alarmed.

'Does he have someone more powerful than the Dynasty backing him? No... is that even possible?'

Absorbed in his thoughts, Luka felt the steel bury deeper into his skin, bring him back to reality.

"I don't know. The ranks of the Armstrong family members is a guarded secret. However, supposedly, he can thoroughly overpower our guild leader. I don't know if the Dynasty value him that highly…" Luka said.

'Hmmm… that means I should expect his powers to be above rank B then… unless he's a unique rank B Awakened.'

Absorbed in thoughts, Adam suddenly heard Luka's voice.

"I know you will kill me, so I won't beg for my life. In due time, I'm certain you will join me. You might have fooled us, but eventually everyone will realize you're still alive. And, I don't know how you did it, but they will find out about your true rank, too. There's no way a mere rank E Awakened could do this to me... hahaha..."

Just then, Luka could no longer feel the steel pressing against his neck. He could hear light footsteps from behind, however, he didn't bother to turn his head. Instead, he continued to sit a daze while muttering to himself. Suddenly, the surrounding scenery turned hazy.

'Another illusion? Hahaha… I don't think I will wake up from this one.'

* * *

[You have successfully created 10 Familiars!]

[Establishing Connection to The Omen]

[Connection Established]

Name: Adam Staples.

Age: Seventeen.

{Race}

- Human.

- Demonkin (Plague).

{Stats}

Constitution: 11. Agility: 17. Endurance: 23. Luck: 2.5

Dexterity: 16. Strength: 19. Charisma: 10.

{Skills}

- Summoning.

- Illusion Inducement.

- Regeneration (Passive).

- Poison Resistance (Passive).

- Invisibility.

{Title}

- Manipulator.

- Illusionist.

- Devourer.

- Dominator.

- Slayer (Passive).

- The Hated One (Passive).

???

{Status}

Awakened!

{Omen Points}

- 8.

{Inventory}

- Cataclysm, Runed Blade of Delusions.

- Familiars (18/???)

- Transmission Crystal (1/1)

- Worn Half Mask (1/1)

{Level}

- C.

???

'From what that Andre said, this dungeon is in Targarth. Who would have thought I would come back so soon…'

Slowly, Adam's face transformed back to his previous form.

'It's a shame to leave all this behind, but I don't have time loot… X should have gotten to the exit by now. I should catch with her.'

Taking on last look at the corpses, Adam unleashed a frightening burst of speed. Within seconds, he had already disappeared down the path X took earlier.