Sub-Skill Unlocked

"Relax! You do not want to get eaten like…" Gerald paused his words, refraining from speaking further.

Darius's gaze was real. His eyes bloodshot and his aura oddly coldly and filled with the intent to kill.

He turned toward Gerald for a moment despite being held by the two women of the group. They struggled to keep him stable due to his brimming anger.

"Like what? Like Garius?" Darius stared deep into Gerald's eyes as they he was the one who'd fed Garius to the creature in front of them. "Let me tell you all this now! I would rather die here with my brother than return alive, knowing we never got to avenge him."

"Why? Because we were afraid of one slimy little ball of red fucking blood!" Darius's voice got louder each second but the ladies slowly let him go as subtly ordered by Gerald.

Gerald knew better than to speak so he simply shook his head in respect to Darius's words.

"Are you saying we should ignore his killer who's right in front of us?" Darius asked, his eyes dancing and moving from one figure to the other. He also didn't forget to steal glances at the liquid ball that slowly kept advancing toward him.

Once again, Gerald shook his head with a frown before answering. "It would be most unwise to go after that creature after witnessing what it did to your twin brother. You would without a doubt, end up like Garius." Gerald sighed.

Gerald stared into Darius's eyes as he spoke and the moment he sensed a flicker of emotion, he began walking toward Darius.

"I know it's not how it should be but I'd suggest we retreat for now."

Roaaaar!!

As though in agreement with Gerald's words, a furious jaw dropping roar spread through the forest, the impact making the ground itself tremble.

For a moment after the vibration stopped, all five members of Gerald's team, still alive, turned to face their leader.

"What? What's with the look?" Gerald was overwhelmed by the look on the faces, especially the facial expression Darius was displaying.

"You all heard it too, right? I'm hoping that's the cause for such faces." Gerald coughed, managing to maintain maximum composure despite being caught in an embarrassing situation once again.

Jack nodded while Darius opted to remain silent. It was like he was waiting for a word of approval from Gerald so he would put an end to the liquid ball no matter what.

As for the other two ladies, they chose to answer verbally. "That's exactly why we're all staring at you. That much should be obvious." They seemed to be in unison, both of the shrugging simultaneously.

Roaaaar!

The roar came again, louder than the previous one and this time, Darius was the one to yell.

"God damn it!" Darius roared, ignoring the blob-like creature for a while. "You just made it clear that kind of us was allowed to die here after Garius and now. You're spacing out while something we don't know closes in on us?!"

Gerald's whole body vibrated as he tried to speak. "Uhm… Guys? I hate to say this but as much as I would like to run the hell out of here, my body's frozen. I can't move." Gerald confessed and Jack could only facepalm himself gently.

"I don't think this will cut it. Our leader gets frozen every time. It's not very… Leader like." Jack sighed as he walked toward Gerald. Hie picked Gerald off the floor and then turned to the other team members. "Let's head back for now. We can at least have a burial for Garius as well."

Hearing Jack's suggestion brought a gentle smile to Darius's face. They were at least going to have a burial for his deceased brother. It might not revive him but it sure as well would mean a lot to himself.

All five of them gathered close by. Darius's gaze still lingering on the blob a few metres away which now seemed to be leaping away. "I'll get stronger and then I'll come back to hunt you within this forest."

Now that Darius's rationality was back, he seemed to understand just how easily Garius has been killed and also how he would've died just as easily had it not been for the others.

Receiving the approval of everyone present, Jack tore a purple scroll he'd pulled from his small waist strapped bag. A bright shining light made of purple shot into the sky for a brief second, engulfing all five of them and in the next second, it vanished. The entire ruined scene was empty.

It hadn't been up to a quarter of the day and yet, the party of six that were sent to retrieve Damien's body had returned with one member short. A story none of them would forget as they left the location completely empty and ruined.

Well, it wasn't completely empty.

The occasional sound of more magic beast heading toward their previous location.

Having nothing else to do, the blop creature made its way toward a certain location within the forest.

Faraway from all the destruction and ruins of the battle was a young, smart, and handsome man, seated lotus style with his back relaxed on the trees bark. However, he was far from being asleep or unconscious of his surroundings.

He was in his zone.

He was still thinking about where his only summoned creature had gone off to when he received another notification from his system.

Ding!

«Congratulations! You have unlocked the Subskill (Sensory Link) after passing the hidden mission: Feed your summon with the core of a beast at least two rank higher.»

«Would you like to view the description of your new skill?»

Another panel popped up a few minutes after Damien absorbed the information on the first panel.

"Yes, please!" Damien wasted no time answering the question.

«Sensory Link: The user is able to link their senses with that of their summons. They can see, feel, hear, taste and even smell whatever their summon can. This makes for a wider sensual range for the user.»

There was a smile on Damien's face as he finished reading the details on the panel.

«Would you like to perform Sensory Link with your summon: Luton?»

Another panel came and Damien couldn't help but answer immediately as he wanted to know the whereabouts of his summon. "Yes!"

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A/N: My deepest apologies to my dear readers who've been waiting for new chapters. I apologize for having not uploaded during the past few days. I can assure you all, I am back and I will not miss a single day of releasing new chapters so please, support me with your power stones and comments!!

For every 50 stones, I will drop a bonus chapter and for every 100, I will drop two bonus chapters. Thank you all!! :)