A New Player

Spark held the [Volcanic Spine] in one hand, whereas his other hand was superimposed, quivering right above the red gash spitting out black smoke in organic breaths.

Mana dripped into the Soul Bound, and Spark's eyes narrowed in shock as he let out a miserable whimper.

"Keurgh!"

Hot flames engulfed his hand in immolating heat, hair follicles and skin melted away, and were immediately replaced by red, burnt flesh.

Its smell spread out into the training room, trunking the air in an uncomfortable stench.

Spark, who had disrobed the dapper suit, winced and grimassed before deactivating the Soul Bound.

Luckily, the [Volcanic Spine] belonged to the utility category, as well as being of the lesser rank, therefore lacking the firepower of the really offensive and dangerous Soul Bounds. Otherwise, Spark would have never dared to continue on with these experiments.

With his chest huffing and puffing, rising up and down in quick beats, Spark laid on the floor with his eyes closed, before cramming out a Spiritual Herb solution and rubbing it on his burned arm.

Feeling the cooling and healing sensation of Mana, Spark's rugged breathing slowly calmed down.

"Is it not the Fire Element, or is my approach wrong?"

He pondered in silence before finally sighing. As expected, the experiments he conducted, were all for the sake of awakening his last two Elements, which, at the moment, were tightly locked behind three white question marks.

The Soul and Sword Element have unlocked with the Awakening and Binding of the Ancient Ghost Slayer, and the Ice Element had awakened spontaneously, in the midst of a hail rain.

Spark didn't know if such success could be replicated with other Soul Bounds, or if the Double Elemental Soul Bound was a rare case, only possible because of an instrinsic deep affinity it had with him.

And as for awakening spontaneously, Spark didn't even have enough information to make sense of the rules it followed.

On paper, he was still in the Peak Body Foundation, therefore unable to have Soul Bounds linked to his soul.

Luckily, SB could be used by Body Foundation Cultivators, too, as long as they were supplied with Mana, which a Body Foundation had just started to learn to manipulate.

Of course, their efficiency was reduced without the proper Element, Soul Link and Mana Influx, but that was fine by Spark, as he still had enough uses for his left hand to not burn it to ashes.

As for what he told to the blonde giant, he had to lie and say that these experiments were to test his endurance and pain tolerance to the Elements, to deduce what Element he would awaken in the Qi Realm.

Well, there was some truth mixed into the lies.

Although Alessandro vehemently promised that such experiments see low success and that he should rather focus on advancing his realm and see for himself, to Alessandro's surprise, Spark kept on insisted on it.

That's how Alessandro's misunderstanding came to life.

And the reason for Spark's insistence was simple. Who can say what would happen in Spark's unique case of being partly divine awakened? His other Elements might not unlock when he reached the Qi Realm, as he had already unlocked three out of five.

It was left to him and his resourcefulness to find a way to awaken them externally.

"Argh, I don't know anymore."

"The Ice Element awakened so suddenly, and I still haven't figured out why. Looking back... there was

this sensation that overcame my entire being. It was a feeling of commsumation, a subtle feeling of everything falling into the right place."

"Also I was more resistant to the cold than a usual person, leading me to my assumption that by exposing myself to the Elements, I might gain a clue, but... fire still hurts like a b***h, damn!"

"It seems I'll have to delve deeper into insanity."

Spark let out a self-deprecating sigh, and tabulated his experiments.

"The chances of it being Fire, Lightning, Earth, Light, Darkness, Water, Bone, Metal, Vine and Mud, are, although not completely impossible, definitely less likely."

"Sadly, there are far too many Elements to test, with some being too elusive or dangerous, such as Poison, Illusion, Death, Cloud, Time, Space, Rule etc."

"I can't forget about Battle Weapon Elements like Spear, Bow, Dagger too. Sigh, it seems the road ahead is miserable."

Spark smiled helplessly, before propping himself up with his hand, and bringing the [Volcanic Spine] into the cellar, and going back to the surface-level shop.

Seeing Alessandro bartering with a customer, Spark waved his hand and left after tersely thanking the giant shopkeeper for his trust.

Now out in the open again, Spark decided to research the competition and their sweet, delicious- no, uhm... very innovative products, before resuming to business and Cultivation to prepare for his upcoming awakening, which felt only days away.

But to his dismay, time might be too scarce, as there was an unknown danger brooding hundreds of miles away.

...

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

Frankel turned around, his face devoid of even a single drop of blood. His nervous eyes shot around, trying to locate the incoming danger.

Rustle! Rustle!

A cold feeling attacked his wet back, fueling his bloodshot eyes with even more focus, until several capillaries burst apart, but the Qi Realm Cultivator seemed to have other worries preoccupying his mind.

He drew in a short gasp, when he caught sight of the abominations dozens of meters behind him.

A whimper left his mouth, as he continued to run in the opposite direction.

"How! J-Just how! Just w-why!"

Unintelligble stutters streamed from his throat, in an attempt to make sense of the situation.

When patchy memories from earlier resurfaced in his mind, a flash of hatred and unwillingness rose up in him.

"A Monster-!"

"T-There is a terrible new Overlord... H-How can such a Horror have nested in the Black Mire? How!"

Crack!

He was thrown out of his thoughts when a crisp sound, just about 8 meters to his right, reached his ears.

His skin cramped and shuddered, but alas...

It was already too late...

He couldn't even react properly, when a rush of pain alarmed every fibre of his being, his leaping heart skipping over several beats, until it rested completely.

A lank face with a terrible muzzle, dripping foul saliva stared at him just a step away.

A blurry reflection of his mangled figure, mirrored in the abomination's black eyes, gazed back at him with unfeeling ferality.

"Ah- Please spa-"

Crack!

Before he could utter another word, his head exploded like a rotten watermelon, ground between black rows of the abomination's spiky teeth.

A litany of cries drew nearer, and the terrible abomination quickly feasted on his corpse, ripping it into pieces before the other vultures had the chance to join.

The black fog surrounding this grim scene convulsed like a beating heart, clenching quicker and heavier, marking the arrival of a wave of hungry beasts with heavy, yet agile steps.

The black forest was teeming with strange, horrific creatures emerging from the fog, countless and ghastly, appearing like they were born from the hazy mist.

Nature's dark side revealed itself in these horrific abominations, leaving no place for the good.

This change was too unexpected... They were not prepared for this.

The investigative cohort, responsible to bring glory and revenge to their citizens.

The team of 15 seasoned veterans, led by one of the strongest Cultivators Monsoon City had to offer, the same team who was responsible for the hunt of the insidious Water Bandit, the one who terrorized their home for years.

The ones who had promised a better future for Monsoon City and its citizens. A brighter future for the Outskirts.

These heroes... these valiant martyrers... they could not even reach the bandit hideout at some corner of the Black Mire.

Tragedy had arrived far quicker.

The Cohort, the Water Bandit, and all life too weak to thrive in the black fog...

They were all mercilessly obliterated.

All it took was a wrong step.

With the first step into the Black Mire, their final doom had been set in stone.

A new beast was in town, thriving deep in the darkness of the black mist... and this creature certainly had no concern for the survival of any lowly life forms beneath it.