Chase

"What do you want? I thought I told you not to contact me unless you awaken."

Revel's annoyed and angry voice came through the glowing Jade – Liam only had to imbue the item with some of his 'Ora' to activate it.

"I have."

A short silence ensued, bringing attention to the howling wind.

"Meet me in the same place. Careful not to get caught in the traps. Look for the top-right hole and enter through the mountain slope."

Before Liam could respond, the connection had been cut.

Liam clicked his tongue in annoyance, before making his way towards the same place he freed the slaves.

…

Gray clouds rumbled above, while rain poured heavily below. A storm was rapidly approaching as the sun set, and flashes of lightning lit up the lush environment.

Liam jumped from tree to tree as he made his way towards the spot where he fought the slavers.

'From what I've seen, that man is an inscription master of sorts – though I haven't seen anything inscribed with pure blood.'

Liam was drenched as he made his way through the forest – heading straight for the mountain slope.

In truth, Liam was still on edge about meeting that pale-faced maniac, but he had to confirm his suspicions.

He had already begun to learn about forgemastery.

If he could pair it with inscriptions – even beginning with the most rudimentary knowledge – he could cover almost all his weaknesses.

Not to mention, he could truly make use of every second of his time.

As he was in deep thought, he could sense three figures rapidly approaching from his flank.

They wore long black hoods covering their faces, and their burly bodies were covered in tightly wrapped magical beast hide.

Despite the rain and harsh weather, Liam didn't miss the space rings on their index.

'Damn it!'

Liam grimaced, speeding up and spreading his senses further to see if there were any more people.

There weren't any, but the three pursuing him had to be strong. However, Liam didn't sense any strong mental energy from them.

'They don't know I'm already a magus. If I had to guess, they have powerful bodies to compensate for that – judging by how fast they are. Maybe Rank-3."

"Halt!"

One of them shouted, but that only made Liam move faster, his eyes turning cold with a focused light.

Despite the thunder booming, Liam's ears could pick up on the conversation between them – since they weren't too far behind.

"Don't let him get away. We just need his head!"

The three swiftly gained on him, and in a moment's time, they would catch up.

As they got closer, the first thing they felt was a chill that ran down their spines, mixed with pure bloodlust.

At first, they attributed that to the harsh weather, but they had Rank-3 bodies – which have high resistance to cold and hot weather alike.

It didn't cross their minds for a moment that their pursuant was a magus.

Nonetheless, they were powerful cultivators. They wouldn't back up now.

A whip, a broadsword, and a large hammer appeared in each of the figures' hands.

The fastest among the three – 'Broadsword' – got close enough for an attack, swinging his giant weapon at Liam's back.

The swing seemed incredibly slow in Liam's eyes, but would prove fatal if landed.

Before it did, a faint glow covered Liam's hands and arms.

He unsheathed his katana and wakizashi – green blades that glimmered with flashes of lightning – made from a Rank-2 horned snake with acidic properties.

"Watch out!"

The eyes of the two figures behind widened in shock as they warned, yet they weren't fast enough to help him.

With a slight sidestep, Liam dodged the broadsword and weaved in, performing a series of wide slashes that cut deep into the muscles.

Liam had actually intended to cut bone-deep but found that the man's body was too strong for that.

Streaks of blood flew in the air, which the rain quickly pulled to the ground.

Broadsword was blinded, his ears were severed, and his body was covered with dozens of sizzling gashes.

Before his corpse could even fall to the earth, Liam turned around and started running again.

'Whip' and 'Hammer' cursed loudly, but were forced to leave him behind and continue the chase.

"We have to end this fight quickly, that brat is somehow a Rank-1 Magus!" Whip shouted with panic in his voice, causing both to raise their speed. "I'll hold him tight, you charge your strongest martial art form."

Liam scoffed at their stupidity of shouting their plan right behind him. Granted, the sounds of rain and thunder were loud, but not for a Magus.

Suddenly, a blazing iron whip – weakened slightly due to the rain – shot out like a snake towards Liam's figure.

At the same time, the giant hammer the other wielded hummed, causing slight vibrations to shake the air – gradually growing stronger.

Instead of dodging the flaming whip, Liam allowed it to lash his arm – the whip bursting into flames that charred his skin – but he ignored the pain and wrapped it around his wrist.

Before Whip could pull, Liam was much faster, forcefully yanking him forward and piercing the man's neck with his wakizashi.

Simultaneously, he blocked the loud sound shockwave shooting for his head using the man's corpse.

Still, Liam's ears ringed and leaked blood from the attack, but the corpse suffered the brunt of it – which now resembled a bloodied, deflated balloon.

The remaining pursuer cursed loudly, panickingly charging his martial art form again – but two sharp arcs of light shot at his hands and body, severing his fingers and causing him to drop the hammer.

The man fell on his back and coughed blood, clutching the spot where his fingers once were.

Bloodlust accompanied with chilling pressure assaulted his mind – gradually growing stronger – but the cold voice forced him to focus.

"Who sent you?"

Liam appeared above him, his katana's tip held firmly against the man's neck, drawing blood.

The man coughed a few more times, blood splattering against the wet mud. Being so close to death seemed to give him a strange confidence.

"Will you let me live?"

Liam didn't say anything, but his face implied there was a fate worse than death depending on what he said.

The man took a few seconds to come to terms with reality. But by the end of it, he just sighed solemnly and accepted his fate.

"We accepted the job through a proxy… but I'm sure the employer was from a noble House. Never should've accepted this damn job. Just make it quick."

Liam nodded in acknowledgement, swiping his sword upwards and killing the man instantly.