7 Discomfort

I felt slight guilt as I took the guilds property, not that it would matter, this base was abandoned, and they had very little hope of reclaiming it. 

I felt a bit more secure now as I saw the abundant food and water reserve stored behind the guild's cafeteria, likely to feed members working in house. 

There were quite a few ingredients I had never seen before, appearing to be spices or meat native to this world. 

Either way, I grabbed what I could recognize and began to prepare enough food to last at least a few more days, planning to store them in containers I had found earlier. 

The preparations were a bit excessive, but I wasn't sure how much longer I would spend in these ruins, so it was better to be safe. 

I had recognized quite some time ago that these ruins were of the city Ironguard, an important city for the Monarchy of Steel.

The reason for its abandonment and subsequent destruction was the conflict between the two factions of awakeners. 

Following convention, those who awakened and decided to use their powers to protect civilization from the threat of dungeons, gates and monsters were called heroes. 

The other who pledged allegiance to the forces of evil and were dedicated to the destruction of civilization were called 'corrupted' but the populous also just called them villains. 

The corrupted were awakened who had formed contracts with beings known as forbidden ones, beings of great power which seemed hell bent on the destruction of humanity. 

In exchange for their freedom and sanity, corrupted would gain a significant boost in power, making them the biggest threat to mankind. 

To most people, this deal was awful, a puppet who wielded strength, was still just a puppet after all. 

However, these 'forbidden ones' would pray on those who were desperate enough to agree, be it out of a desire for revenge, a lust for power or an already twisted mind. 

The reason these forbidden ones didn't outright destroy the world with their might was due to a counter acting force of similarly powerful beings. 

These were just called gods and contracts with them could be established as well, though it was far less common. 

Either way right now both the heroes and corrupted had retreated from the area to recuperate their losses from the battle and wouldn't return for at least another week. 

Which is why I felt safe to roam these city ruins but that didn't mean I wanted to stay here for a long time. 

The closest city to here was the academic city of Copperfront all I really knew was that it was to the south of this city which is why I headed further and further to the city ruins. 

If I had chosen to go the other direction from the cathedral, I likely would have ended up at a corrupted base which would cut my second life short. 

'Done.' 

I thought as I sealed the last box I intended to prepare, stuffing it in the bag with the other boxes and bottles of water. 

I placed the bag on a desk in the reception before heading to wash the sweat I had accumulated off in the staff bathroom I had found earlier. 

As I twisted the tap, a stream of cold water came pouring out which I splashed onto my face.

As I used a cloth to dry my face, my eyes were drawn to the large mirror in front of me, the figure staring back at me was unfamiliar. 

Pale and smooth skin, a small nose and long dark black hair that reached my shoulders but most strikingly were the eyes. 

One an emerald green, the other an obsidian black. 

Looking at the mirror increased the discomfort I felt in controlling a body that was not mine but dwelling on it for too long was a waste of time. 

I returned to the reception slinging the bag over my shoulder as I double checked the supplies and secured the dagger in its sheath.

Exiting the building I was once again met with complete darkness, but it wasn't too bad due to the perception stat. 

Continuing in the opposite direction I had entered the building from, this time I tried to push my agility stat to the limit. 

Only slowing down to vault over collapsed structures, I ran uninhibited, relishing the cool night air. 

The surroundings were a blur as I fell into an almost trance like state, my only focus on getting as far as I could before having to stop to rest. 

I took a few breaks to drink water, not wanting to waste time on food, deciding to continue until it was absolutely necessary for me to stop. 

What felt like a few minutes at most must have been in a few hours as the darkness of night subsided slightly as dawn was about to break. 

The rubble was mostly gone now, indicating that I had entered the outskirts of the city but I came to a sudden halt when a pungent smell assaulted my nose. 

The air was tinged with a heavy metallic smell making me cover my nose with my arm as I continued at a slower pace. 

In the barren plains I saw what appeared to be unmoving humanoid figures in the distance and I gripped the handle of the dagger in caution. 

*SPLASH*

Focused on the figures in the distance I wasn't paying attention to the ground when I heard a splash, caused by a puddle of fluid in the ground. 

I hurriedly stepped back, the liquid was a dark red with hues of purple mixed in and a description of a similar liquid from the novel popped up in my mind. 

'Corrupted blood.'

A corrupted had probably died here judging by the amount of blood; there was no body in the proximity as the dead body of corrupted disintegrate after some time. 

Looking at the ground, these pools were everywhere, creating a thin lake of blood on the ground. 

There were also traces of ash mixed in with some of the blood and though partially submerged, I could see the remains of weapons as well. 

My stomach felt uneasy as I guessed what the humanoid figures in the distance were but they were scattered through the field, avoiding them would take too much time. 

I moved towards the path where I saw the least amount of them as I tried to avoid looking at them as I got closer. 

I attempted to ignore the occasional pools of blood I steeped through and the smell of death and rot, covering my eyes and nose with my arms. 

Not looking at the ground as I tried to walk hurriedly past the battlefield, I felt my leg get caught onto something as I lost my balance and fell to the ground. 

*THUP*

Softening the fall with my hands, I felt the object that had tripped me fall next to me and I opened my eyes to see what it was.