A Death Curse?!

Michael led the three adventurers back to the hollowed mountain where the Lizardman settlement was located. He would have let Eudora and Brutus return back to the city that was located on the outskirts of the forest surrounding the mountain range, but he realized he had acted wrongly earlier. For all he knew, they might try to rat him out to an adventurer guild in the city, therefore, painting a target on his infant civilization's back! He was too naïve!

He acted cool and just invited them back to the settlement to rest, but both he and they knew that he intended to make sure they stayed tight-lipped.

As soon as they stepped through the tunnel that separated the main settlement from the tunnel that led there, tens of Lizardmen surrounded them. Michael waved them off, but surely, the remaining people behind him were frightened enough to make them shake.

He led them to an obscure corner that was devoid of too many eyes and sat cross-legged on the floor before gesturing that they do the same. Only then did he speak.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here." He looked at Eudora and Brutus, "Again." Leonidas timidly nodded, his eyes wide and fearful. Michael killing all those people in seconds had left him with a very deep impression of his strength. One had to keep in mind that non of the people he had killed were weak! Roid was a Middle-D Rank mage, along with a pair of Late E rank mages, and one Middle E rank Martial Artist. Taking out such a force was something only a well established C Rank Mage or Martial Artist could do in such a short amount of time, yet Michael had done in so easily. What astounded Leonidas the most was the fact that he the ripples of energy he could feel from Michael was only at the Peak E Rank.

"Well, that's quite simple! I just want to make something clear." Michael smiled. "I don't want any of what happened to be known by the rest of the people who live around here, so you three will have to make a promise to me. Do not speak about me or my civilization to anyone. You can spin some random tale about Roid and his goons, but the moment I see adventurers rushing into the mountains to procure Lizardman scales," His eyes narrowed as he looked at each of them eye to eye, "I'll kill you." He finished with a low hiss at the end of the sentence.

"To make sure you won't speak about any of this, I have no other choice but to place you all under a curse." He raised his hand, revealing a bright swirl of light swimming around him. Before any of them could protest, he waved it over them, sprinkling dense particles of energy over them. In a few moments, the cluster of energy around them dispersed, spreading to their surroundings.

"There. This curse makes sure you don't spread any news about me and my people. We aren't ready to become known to the rest of the world. The moment you let people know about us, the curse will act up and kill you." His sharp reptilian eyes glinted as he spoke. The slits of his eyes narrowing even further.

"Why are you doing this? I thought we came to an agreement earlier!" Brutus forced out through gritted teeth.

Michael played with a small rock as he put his thoughts together.

"Well, you see, at first I didn't mind letting you go, but then, I thought- 'What if they betray me and lead a mob of adventurers to wipe out me and my kin?'. I'm sorry, but I need to take various matters into consideration if I want to grow my tribe. If it was just me, I could just move, but I have others to take care of. I can't be careless." He opened his hands as a gesture of helplessness. There really wasn't anything he could do to make the matter less dangerous for them.

"So we're going to die?" Leonidas spoke up. The Pure Elf's hands were buried in his silvery hair, ruffling it and making him look wild.

"No, you won't." Michael held up a finger. "If you abide by the single term I've set, your life won't be in danger, and you can live your life normally." He gave the young Elf a crooked smile. Leonidas gulped and went back to staring at the floor.

After a while more of placating their fears and reassuring them, Michael stood up and began to shoo them from the cave.

"You all should go. My people are already looking at you all like a meal." He chided as they made their way to the entrance of the cave. "Also, Eudora. Our earlier deal still stands. Get me what I mentioned and I'll guarantee you get a good peek at the treasure you seek." He waved them off.

After making sure they had gone far enough, he then concealed his presence and followed them from behind. The trio gave the scene of the battle a wide berth, making Michael sigh in relief. Although he had left the bodies in the wild, he was quite sure the trails of his essence that he had left lingering around would keep any weaker creatures away. That said, there were still quite a few Peak E Rank creatures wandering through the forests, but they were few and far in between.

Walking through the trees, Michael retrieved the body that he had punched into the wilds before heading into the open clearing. The bodies had already attracted flies and whatnot, but he didn't care. He never planned on consuming them while in his lizardman form.

With a short mental command, his body took on a silvery glow before collapsing in on itself and forming a puddle of silvery gel on the floor. After over a day of switching forms, he had finally returned to his slime form!

Not intending to waste any time, he swiftly gobbled up the body that was by his side, idly watching as it was dissolved by his potent stomach acids... If you could call his entire body stomach acid. Bubbles drifted to the top as the last of the body was quickly consumed. He swiftly moved over to the other bodies, going through the same motions and consuming them in rapid succession.

Finally, he reached Roid's body. Without sparing a single sympathetic thought at the indecent brute of a man, he engulfed his body with silvery slime, watching it dissolve in a few short moments.

[You have consumed a Human. Hidden requirements met. New Ability Set gained.]