Escape-I

A smell of fresh blood hovered in the air from a corpse lying on the floor with its part above the mouth cut off which elevated the stink of rotting corpses, resulting in a grotesque picture to look at. Beside the corpse was a 7-year old boy, leaning against the basement wall with his arm covering his moistened eyes and wet cheeks.

This was something that Sou never expected in his time in the new world. Sou relived the seven years of his current body's life, it was certain that he would develop an attachment towards the people his current body spent his time with. As soon as the memories of Sou's current body flooded his mind, he felt a strange sensation in his chest, like his mind and soul were missing a particular feeling and atmosphere, a treasured, radiant yet mild feeling. He yearned for the two adults, the adults who made his current body and nurtured it with their love and embraces. He yearned for the parents of his current body.

"I guess I still can't shake off the feeling to be loved..." said the crying boy wiping his eyes and standing up.

Even after Sou's parents betrayed him, he never thought that he would cry over people he didn't even meet. Not only did he retain the memories of his current body, but he also retained the body's emotions and feelings. The only things that remained his own are his personality and thinking.

A kind smile appeared on his face.

"I wonder if I will be loved the same way how he was loved."

(That guy is always looking for people to train with... hehe... I will give him a great training partner... Menu.)

The 'Menu' frame appeared and Sou thought about opening the 'Status'. The 'Menu' disappeared and the 'Status' came floating in front of his eyes.

(Time to invest some points!)

NAME- SOU REYNOLDS

AGE- 7

EQUIPPED TITLE(s)- DESTROYER, DOMINATOR

LVL- 5

HP- 100

MP- 35

STRENGTH- 10 (+)

AGILITY- 20 (+)

WISDOM- 80 (+)

ENDURANCE- 15 (+)

ADRENALINE- 10 (+)

EXP POINTS- 55

Sou looked at his status carefully, tapping the pluses and minuses to adjust his stats.

(Hmm... This looks good.)

NAME- SOU REYNOLDS

AGE- 7

EQUIPPED TITLE(s)- DESTROYER, DOMINATOR

LVL- 5

HP- 113

MP- 50

STRENGTH- 25 (+)

AGILITY- 30 (+)

WISDOM- 80 (+)

ENDURANCE- 25 (+)

ADRENALINE- 30 (+)

EXP POINTS- 0

(The system's functions are really like a game, huh...)

(I have enough Wisdom, must be because of my previous life. After all, this body, despite being a prodigy, was quite stupid. Increasing Adrenaline increases my mana while increasing Strength and Endurance increases my overall health. That means I'll have to more points in Strength and Endurance. If I have overwhelming health. no matter how much I am injured, I will not die. But for now, Agility and Adrenaline matter more, since I have to escape from this stinking place.)

Sou sighed deeply after closing the 'Status' frame.

"I hope that the stats actually work..."

Having decided on what to do, Sou pulled out the dagger from the Sub-space and made his way to the staircase at the other end of the basement. Sou was about to climb the stairs when he heard some people shouting.

"Evan is fuckin' late! Oi Grey, go bring him here! And say that we are starting before him!"

(Evan? Are they talking about the guy I killed?)

"On it boss!"

He was halfway through when Sou leapt at him with his dagger-holding arm bent towards himself and the tip of the dagger pointed towards the man's throat.

Squish!

The dagger pierced the man's Adam's Apple, covering itself in blood wholly. Right after stabbing, Sou spun anti-clockwise in high speed, leaving the man's neck half-open like a can's lid.

Blood came out from the man's open neck like a fountain of blood. The body fell and rolled to the bottom of the staircase.

{You have killed a person}

{You have gained 10 Experience Points}

(Ten? Does that mean that he was stronger than the one I killed earlier?)

Sou continued to the top of the staircase.

***

"What happened to that dick-head now?!" exclaimed the boss with two girls in his arms.

The girls were resisting to their utmost best, but the man's grip was much stronger. The man looked at one of the resisting girls with a perverted smile. He slowly let his tongue out of his mouth and wet his dried lips before attempting to lick the girl's face in such a despicable manner that can put many molesters to shame.

"Noooooo!!"

The others were also doing similar kinds of actions.

(What a bunch of scums!)

Sou clenched the dagger's hilt and gritted his teeth in rage. He wanted to use 'Eyes of Destruction' and burn them all to dust, but he still didn't have enough mana to activate 'Eye of Destruction', so he suppressed his rage and thought about dealing with them using other means.

(Let's try 'Devil's Summoning'.)

"Come out."

Tring!

{Your level is too low for the action 'Devil's Summoning'}

{Please raise your level}

"Haa..."

Sou let out a deep sigh.

(Well, I expected something like this to happen.)

Sou tried to talk to Drago.

<Drago, can you hear me?>

<Yes, Master... Your voice is loud and clear.>

(Good thing that I can at least talk to him.)

Sou recalled the memories of his current body.

Sou's current body has read about the Dragons the most. In the memories of his current body, the ability of a Dragon to make a pact with other species was the most fascinating to Sou.

<I want to form a pact with you. Is it possible?>

<Master, are you sure?>

<Yeah. What do I have to do?>

<Sell... Sell any sense of your body and in return, you will be able to use the Dragon's powers through that sense. Your other senses also raise maintain equilibrium between senses. Not a bad deal, I suppose?>

<Indeed, not a bad deal. But what do you get from it?>

<I guess Master is not a fool...>

<Answer. >

<Knowledge, my Master. We gain knowledge. Dragons are known as the wisest species because of our pacts. Using senses other species, we dragons experience everything side experiences, maybe even more due to vast>

<Is that really the truth?>

<... >

<Aren't you just doing for amusement>

<... I can't fool Master...>

(Well, he is a long-lived being. He must be starving for amusement.)

<Then, take my sense of vision and I will make sure you are amused so much that can't expect anymore.>

<The pact has been completed then.>

Sou's eyes emerald-like eyes started to shine in brilliant gold. He no longer felt his eyes as a part of his body. It was as if his eyes became an entirely different being. His round pupils became pointed like a needle and his irises became slit that looked like that of a fierce beast. He felt like he was seeing a different world, a world devoid of any colours, but at the same time, a fantastically coloured world.

Tring!

{You have formed a pact with a Dragon}

{Your eyes are no longer a part of you. You can still use them}

{Your senses have increased extensively}

{You have become more adaptive to your surroundings}

{You have gained the ability to detect any life form within a radius of 2 Kilometre}

{Level up to detect the mana of objects too}

{Your understanding of 'Mana' has increased significantly due to the pact}

{'Mana Manipulation' has evolved to 'Mana's Authority'}

(What?)

<Hehe... the concept of mana is something that we had to understand become wisest species. And my gift you.>

{Mana's Authority}

-You have been granted the authority to control mana at your will. It can be used to give items elemental properties and can function as a form of psychokinesis by coating the objects in mana. Keep practising to use this skill on bigger and heavier objects.

"Ho..."

Sou smirked. Sou could not wait to test out his powers.

Sou summoned the sword from the Sub-space and held both the dagger and the sword tightly. He concentrated the mana of the elements he analyzed before- Fire and Lightning- gathering at the blade of the sword and dagger respectively. The sword lit up, flames capable of melting metal were dancing on the blade's edge. The dagger was engulfed in a blue hue, with eventual sparks of lightning fluctuating from its edge which can scorch anything within some seconds. Sou laughed quietly.

"Let's start, boys!"

"Hahahahaha! Finally!"

"Come baby~ come to your man~"

Tap... Tap... Tap...

"Huh?! Who the fuck are ya'?!"

"Piss off, kid! Unless you wanna get hurt."

Silence.

"What the?"

"Is he crazy or what?"

Sou slowly started to pace forward.

"Hurt? Do you scums even know the meaning of hurt?"

"Oi! Show him the way out! Haha!"

A bulky man let the girl who was sitting on his lap go and stood up.

"Hey ki-"

Schwing!!

{You have killed a person}

{You have gained 20 Experience Points}

He could not even complete his sentence and the sword in Sou's hand was between the man's legs. After some seconds or so, a cutting sound came from the top.

Man's body started to open from the top, making disgusting noises as the body split apart slowly, but smoothly. And at the end, the body fell apart completely with one half on the left side and the other on the right. The part which was cut was melted as if someone inserted molten iron in that part.

Sou swung his sword as to clean the bloodstains on it.

"G-G-GORD!!"

"KILL HIM!!'

"DON'T LET HIM LEAVE ALIVE!!"

"MAGICIANS! TAKE POSITION!!"

Four men with axes in their hands rushed towards Sou, while three men wearing black robes, stood at the rear, chanting something.

"ORAA!!"

The brute swung his axe at Sou with frightening force. Sou side-stepped to the left, digging the brute's side with his dagger and cutting it open. As he cut it, lightning entered his body, burning everything inside.

{You have killed a person}

{You have gained 15 Experience Points}

Right after he cut, Sou turned around, sensing two more brutes charging at him from behind. He threw his dagger at the one who was behind. He used Mana's Authority to clad the dagger in mana and accelerated the speed of the dagger at the man's heart. The dagger went through his chest and the body fell listlessly while losing its momentum and also fell.

{You have killed a person}

{You have gained 20 Experience Points}

As for the brute in front, Sou quickly guarded himself with his sword to brace for the impact.

"DIE!!"

Clang!

The sword and the axe locked into each other. Sparks flew as both of them struggled with their weapons.

(Good thing I raised my strength...)

Seeing the dagger lying on the floor, Sou used Mana's Authority again to call the dagger towards him. The dagger came flying, and Sou turned the brute's back towards the flying dagger.

Squish!!

"Arghh!!"

The brute screamed in pain.

(What an extraordinary power! How can a kid like him rival my power! Unacceptable...)

"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!"

The brute took back his locked axe and swung with greater force than before. But before he could land a hit, Sou's dagger was already at his neck and in the next moment, the brute's head fell to the ground.

{You have killed a person}

{You have gained 25 Experience Points}

Sou glanced at the magicians who were still chanting their spell.

"Wind Blade!!" the magicians screamed in unison as soon as they finished their chanting.

"So slow..."

Sou ran at a high speed horizontally along the adjacent wall and swung his sword through the magicians' waist. The magicians' upper bodies cut open and fell to the ground.

{You have killed three people}

{You have gained 35 Experience Points}

{LEVEL UP!}

Sou stood still, glaring at the boss of the gang who was holding a knife at the girl's neck.

"Ha-Haha! E-Even if you manage to s-swing your blade at me, y-your blade cannot pierce m-my rock-hard skin, and y-you have to s-save this girl too, right? Hehe..." said the boss with his feet trembling.

(Points to Agility and points to Strength.)

Sou let his body loose, bending himself a bit and suddenly, picking up an extreme speed and leaving a mark of his foot on the ground due to extreme force, he rushed towards the boss. Seeing this, the boss started to move his hand sideways to cut the girl's throat. But he could not manage to kill the girl. Before he could slice her throat, his hand with which he was holding the girl fell to the ground.

"W-WAAAAAHHHH!!"

The boss knelt, gripping his hand as hard he could to stop the bleeding. He cried his bawls out before quickly turning around to Sou to beg for mercy. But before he could, his head went flying.

"Scums like you don't deserve mercy."

{You have killed a person}

{You have gained 65 Experience Points}

{LEVEL UP!}

{LEVEL UP!}

(Now sixty-five?)

While Sou was thinking about how the levelling system works, eleven girls approached Sou and bowed deeply, showing gratitude to Sou.

"Thank you for saving us, sir!"

"..."

One of them suddenly bent down to reach for Sou's blood-stained cheek.

"Kyaa!"

Sou cut off her hand before she could reach for his cheek.

"A-Arghh!!"

Sou directed a death stare at the girls as if he knew what was their intention.

"No need to go through the trouble to hide the knives under your dresses."

Due to levelling up, Sou could now detect objects too as long as there is mana near the objects.

"Tch"

One of the girls clicked her tongue.

"Kill him!"

Phat!!

Every girl's head burst like a balloon popping, making it look like a scene straight out of a horror movie. What Sou did was clad mana around their heads and compress the mana as much as he could, resulting in the bursting of their heads. Sou just stood, wearing an expressionless face, and watched them die miserably.

(Am I losing myself...?)

Silence spread across the blood splashed room.

***

NAME- SOU REYNOLDS

AGE- 7

EQUIPPED TITLE(s)- DESTROYER, DOMINATOR

LVL- 8

HP- 124

MP- 50

STRENGTH- 55 (+)

AGILITY- 80 (+)

WISDOM- 80 (+)

ENDURANCE- 25 (+)

ADRENALINE- 30 (+)

EXP POINTS- 110