The Midden

Mikael swooped to follow the ants carrying Deon.

<Alert! Abnormal status condition detected!>

Ping!

<Alert! Player 'Mikael Lee' is 'Sunburned'. one minute until the destruction of the spirit core.>

With the last dregs of his mana pool drained and his spirit core on the verge of destruction, Mikael had no choice but to return to the Medium.

He laid inside the white king-sized bed and nursed his burnt spiritual flesh, nervously waiting for the dreadful notification that would send him back to the underworld.

He was so sure that this time, his luck would finally run out and, he and Deon would soon be aboard the underworld bullet train on a trip together to the afterlife.

However, hours passed yet nothing happened.

It felt like the calm before the storm.

Mikael's initial tension eased along with his steadily refilling MP and HP gauges.

Finally, Deon awoke.

"Ughh… my head…" Deon sat up, wincing as he touched the big lump at the back of his head

"Glad you're awake, sleeping beauty." Mikael sarcastically says, rolling his eyes at the unbelievable event that he thought only occurred in third-rate animated movies, "Like, seriously? Who slips on monster juice and bumps his head?"

Deon blushed at his partner's comment and heaved a sigh.

"Bleargh!" Deon gagged at the smell, "Wh-where are we?" he pinched his nose as he eyed his surroundings.

It was dark, eerie, and oppressive. It gave Deon the impression that he was inside the stomach of a gigantic monster.

"Sir Mikael, how did we get here? Did you possess my body while I was unconscious?" Deon asked. The last he remembered was passing out on an open space amid tall trees.

"No. I couldn't take over your body because you didn't give your consent. The Killer ants brought you here. Though I don't know exactly where 'here' is."

Deon's hazel brown eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.

His gaze swept his vicinity, and he began to see the area more clearly.

But the more he saw, the more Deon wished he remained blind—As they say, ignorance is bliss.

Deon's expression morphed into a mix of horror and disgust. Goosebumps erupted on his skin as he took in his gruesome surroundings.

He was in a large cave filled with dead Killer ants, their decaying bodies releasing noxious gas that smelled like rotten eggs.

Everywhere Deon turned, mountains upon mountains of monster carcass filled his view.

Suddenly, red light shone on his left.

At first, it was merely a dot, then, as if the stars in the night sky had descended on this world and decided to form a nebula, the little sparkles condensed to form a mana circle with a simple-looking configuration.

"Fire burst!" a clear male voice shouted.

The mana circle reacted to the voice, briefly expanding before shrinking to nothingness as it let out a breath of orange flame.

With that, a torch was lit and the figure of a tall man drenched in monster slime appeared in the darkness.

His face, illuminated by the torchlight, was beautiful in an androgynous way. He had a high nose bridge, a sharp v-line jaw, striking icy blue eyes, and waist-long platinum blonde hair. He looked like a genuine prince straight out of a fairy tale—except for the dark circles under his eyes.

"hehehe!" The man laughed like a madman as he ran toward a pile of corpses.

He set his torch aside and brought out a dagger.

"What's he doing?" Mikael asked. Unable to stand his curiosity, he went out of the Medium and drifted beside the man.

The man stabbed a fresh corpse's abdomen. he skillfully gutted the ant, slicing at the chinks of its tough carapace, and within minutes he had successfully removed its innards.

"Yuck!" Mikael stuck out his tongue after watching the man grab the ant's organs with his bare hands and stuff them in jars that he fished out of his bag.

Running from one carcass to another, the man continued to collect monster innards.

Mikael went back to Deon, "Hey kid. Be careful. That guy's creepy."

Deon turned in his voice's direction and frowned, "No, he's not. That's typical Almagi behavior, sir."

"That's 'NORMAL'?" Mikael replied, his voice laced with incredulity.

"Yes." Deon insisted, "I told you before that Almagi are obsessed with their craft. It's normal to see them act like that when gathering materials for blood ink."

Deon stood up and approached the man. He thought that they'd have a better chance of survival if they come with a strong combat Almagi.

"Hey! Have you forgotten what happened with the mercenaries? Why are you so frustratingly trusting?!" Mikael dissuaded.

But Deon was adamant.

"Combat Almagi are different from mercenaries, Sir Mikael. they are known for many things but they have never been associated with assaults. They're mostly masochists so instead of hurting others, they prefer to hurt themselves." He explained, "Please trust me on this one, sir."

But Mikael had long lost his trust in Deon's eye for people. Still, he let the prince do as he wished. He was confident that he could protect his partner as long as his skills aren't sealed. He thought that whatever the outcome was, this would serve as a lesson for the naive young boy.

"Sir," Deon called.

The man looked at him in surprise, probably not expecting to meet another living person in this monster graveyard, "Oh… hello."

"Do you know where we are?" Deon amicably asked.

"Uhh…" the man eyed him suspiciously. He probably thought, 'why is this brat talking to me?' but he still answered, "The Midden?"

"Midden?" Deon tilted his head.

"It's where ants carry their dead... come to think of it… why are YOU here?" the man asked but when he saw Deon bathed in green monster blood, he exclaimed, "AHA! Did you come for the same reason as me? That's great! Now, my work's going to be much easier!"

The man excitedly mumbled to himself, conveniently assuming things on his own.

"Well then, let me introduce myself." The man stood up, towering Deon at a height of 192cm, and held out his bloody hand, "I am Finn. Tier 1 Combat Almagus."

'Tier 1? Then he must still be a student.' Deon thought to himself as he grasped Finn's hand, "I am Deon. A spearman"

"Deon? You have the same name as the kingdom's third prince." Finn nonchalantly says as he shook Deon's hand, "but that's impossible since there's no way that cowardly prince will participate in a hunt. HAHAHA!"

"Right...haha…" Deon weakly laughs.

"Now then, let's get down to business." Finn's expression turned serious "I want you to gather as much of these as you can."

He showed Deon a jar of Killer ant organs.

"What're these for, Sir Finn?" Deon asked after carefully inspecting the jar.

"Huh? I thought you'd know… anyway, that's the gland responsible for releasing pheromones."

"Phe-pheromones?! Why do you need such a thing?!" Deon stammered, his face burning with second-hand embarrassment.

He thought Finn was sick in the head for wanting to collect pheromones meant for monsters.

Finn gave Deon a nasty look, "You… you just thought of something inappropriate, didn't you?"

--Chapter end--