Nefarious Blood Herb

Wind Dash!

Blue winds sped up Yeshua as he shortened the distance between him and Grey. Seeing his opponent approaching, Grey charged at Yeshua planning to meet him head on. Before the two clashed completely, Yeshua swiped his claws from below!

Wind Claws!

Wind blades slashed towards Grey. The wind was swishing with a sharpness that could cut a redwood tree. The sudden attack surprised Grey but he did not stop. Grey raised his thick arms and shielded himself from the attack!

Slash!

Grey's arms were filled with cuts as blood dripped from his arms. But Grey was tough! Even if the wind blades injured him, he did not care and charged at Yeshua!

Yeshua was surprised at Grey's toughness that he let Grey get near him!

Acrid Claws!

Grey's poisonous claws swiped at Yeshua from above. The acrid smell of the rat wafted to Yeshua's snout that caused him to be distracted. Green light reflected in Grey's claws as a weighty force accompanied his blow!

Yeshua hurriedly leaned to the side to dodge the attack.

Boom!

The air exploded as Grey's claws slashed through it missing Yeshua by inches. But Yeshua underestimated Grey!

Poison Tail!

Yeshua was feeling relief from narrowly evading Grey's claws when a long tail quickly approached him from his side. The tail's pointy end was dripping with a green viscous liquid that made Yeshua's heart palpitate! The tail was poisonous!

This poison was different from Acrid Claws as it was more potent and being hit once was enough to paralyze him. Acrid Rats' tails were special as the poison accumulated in them was more potent. Once released, it needed some time to accumulate the poison. It was the special attack of the Acrid Rats.

Suddenly, Yeshua's figure became blurred as the air around him flickered. Then, Grey's attack slashed through the air and blasted it. But Yeshua was not there!

Grey was livid. Yeshua was difficult to catch and this annoyed him. He looked around and saw Yeshua a few feet away from him.

Yeshua was really lucky as he was able to activate his abilities successfully.

The Elusive Presence was adapted from the Night Wolf's Elusive Shadow. Elusive Shadow was an ability that relied on dark affinity. The darkness shrouded and silenced the movement of the user making him hard to discern especially in dark places.

The AI configured the ability so that it could still be used using wind affinity. Elusive Presence used the air to mask the presence of the user. The air vibrated around the user that caused a mirage effect. The user would be hard to detect as his image blurred confusing his opponent.

Yeshua used the Elusive Presence to confuse the aim of Grey making him unable to discern his true position. While he was using the ability, he dodged to the side as the tail missed him by inches. Then, he used Wind Dash to flash away.

If he did not use Elusive Presence, Grey would control his tail to follow him when he evaded. With their distance from each other, he was sure that he would still be hit!

The two look at each other from a distance. Yeshua was calm and vigilant like a wolf hunting his prey while Grey was having a hard time controlling his anger.

They were surrounded by floating dust while the ground was filled with cracks. There was also an acrid scent that could be smelled wafting in the wind.

Out of nowhere, Grey suddenly asked Yeshua a question. "Do you know what is inside the package?"

Grey's raspy voice reached Yeshua confusing him. Even if Yeshua was confused why Grey was asking it now, he still answered him honestly.

"No. I already told you that I lost the package because of an accident. You just don't want to listen to me."

"Heh. Then, do you know what Nefarious Blood Herb is?"

Even now, Grey still did not want to believe Yeshua. His smirk showed his doubt that Yeshua did not know what he was talking about.

If Yeshua knew what Nefarious Blood Herb was, he would know how expensive it was. For poor people like them, the price of that herb was not something they would earn in their life. If not for the money that Grey's gang earned from his shady dealings, he would not be able to buy it.

But even so, all those earnings did not go to Grey and he even had to buy that herb for that person.

"No. This is the first time I hear of that herb."

Yeshua was telling the truth. Even his father did not mention something like that. His father taught him a lot of things but it did not mean his father knew everything. This was really his first time to know the name of that herb and he did not know its effect.

"Heh, I don't know if I should believe you but if you know the value of that herb then I bet you will still fight me just to keep it."

Then, Grey continued to look at Yeshua waiting for something.

…

"Young master, that herb is…" Rose's voice faintly trembled when she heard of the name of the herb. Since she was Michael's servant and she was close to him, she heard of this herb that appeared some years ago.

Michael's face could not help but frown when he heard what was inside the package.

"Nefarious Blood Herb… that is an insidious poison that increases the savageness and turns an Alterer to a feral without them realizing! That herb is rare and expensive since the Human Council forbids selling it."

Michael remembered all the information he knew about the herb after hearing its name. The nefarious blood herb just appeared a couple of years ago and no one knew what dark organization nurtured this sinister herb.

The world was filled with the power of the natural laws. The spirit particles induced the birth of spirit materials such as gene minerals and gene plants. These gene materials were also filled with spirit genes. The spirit genes allowed these materials to have magical effects.

They could be used for different purposes such as helping the cultivation of Alterers when they were consumed, concocting gene medicines, or crafting materials for artisans. These gene materials were also used by genome scholars in their modification of genome sequence.

But at the same time, gene materials could also be nurtured by humans. Genome scholars found a way to modify the spirit genes of these materials and nurtured them for specific uses.

"When the Human Council discovered the existence of this herb, they banned it and warned that those who sell it will be dealt harshly. This herb is the natural poison of Alterers. Savageness is the foremost danger of Alterers and this herb amplifies it insidiously. If you're poisoned by this herb, you won't know even until you become a feral!"

Michael's gruff voice was grave as he thought that whoever nurtured this herb wanted to find a way to weaken humanity.

Alterers were not just cultivators. They were also defenders of the humans against the spirit beasts. They stole the power of the spirit beasts and used it to protect what was important for them. If the protectors became monsters, then who would become the protectors?

It was no wonder that Michael and Rose were shocked when they heard its name.

"What kind of people nurtures this herb? If they find a way to increase its number, then that will be a nightmare for Alterers..."

"Then, young master, should we report it? You said that you saw Grey on the black market. Maybe he got the herb from there?"

"If the herb really comes from the black market, then we can only report it. But it's the black market. That place continued to exist for a reason. Well, maybe, this time will be different."

Then, Michael looked at Rose and was surprised that this little rabbit thought of that. "So, you sometimes use your brain, ha."

Rose's face turned red after hearing what Michael said making her cuter. Michael's lust for the loli shot up that it reached the mortal sky! He decided. He really would open the red room!

...

"Why are you telling me this now? I really don't know what that nefarious herb is. I keep on telling you that I really lost that package. Whatever. I know you won't believe me." Yeshua felt exasperated by this opponent. They were supposed to be fighting but now, they were talking.

(I wanted to talk to you before but you wanted to fight me. Now I resolved myself to fight you but you're talking to me?! What's your problem, bro?!)

"Heh. Truly naive. Let me teach you something, boy. Alterers not only have to be careful with the influence of the savageness of their Alter Beast. They also have to be careful of their opponent. Just because you're faster than me and you can dodge all my attacks mean that I don't have a way to deal with you." Grey's rat face smirked mockingly at the naivety of the boy in front of him.

Yeshua was confused by Grey's words. But suddenly, his bestial instinct felt that he fell into a trap!

Yeshua was being careful not to be wounded by Grey since he knew that his abilities had something to do with poison. He checked his body but he was not wounded. He knew that he dodged all the attacks!

Then, what was this feeling of danger?!

Yeshua's heart could not help but beat faster.