Chương 85: Chapter 053 Blood Magic Lessons (Part 2)

Jack looked towards the bound Cain. He had a plan to save the warrior, but it relied on perfect timing and a hell of a lot of luck. Jack closed his eyes and gave a quick prayer to the Gods and touched his hand to the breast pocket where his spell scrolls were stored. Remember. Three [Frost Breath], t wo [Fireball], and a [Chronos Sphere]. Three frost… t wo fire… one time. He closed his eyes and prayed again that he wouldn't have to burn them. Kendrel raised his hand.

"Begin." The chant rolled out in ancient elven. Deep and steady. Jack joined in. Stay lucid. Don't fall into a trance. The runes pulsed white, and the light in the chamber dimmed. He felt the trance try to take hold of him. It felt slow, drugged, and seductive. He stopped chanting and bit his cheek; it had no effect. Jack's eyes began to close. Fuck. He drew his dagger, sliced his left palm, and grimaced as pain bloomed and the fog receded. Keep fucking lucid. He dug his fingernails into the thin wound and moaned.

It was working… for now. The others fell deeper into the trance, their eyes closed and their breath shallowed. They swayed as they began to automatically chant. Jack's heart raced with what he was about to do to save Cain; eleven must die to save one. He placed [Assassin's Mark] on one of the young blood mages. Healthy, entranced, minor armour, protections. Shit. Protections. He had no idea what the protections would be. It could protect the wearer from a [Fireball] spell or an assassin's blade… or both.

Jack crouched, dagger drawn, and placed his hand on the prepared [Chronos Sphere] scroll, and froze as panic… He shook his head. I have to do this. I have to. I can't have this on my conscience. But he still didn't move; his blood trickled onto the [Chronos Sphere] spell scroll as the young blood mages continued to chant. He tightened his grip on the rough handle of his dagger; it felt right, and the panic receded. Blood mages are evil. They have to die. All of them.

"[Chronos Sphere]." Time dragged, and the world slowed as Jack moved while the world moved at a snail's pace. Three steps to his right. The spell attached to the scroll would accelerate time by five times for three seconds. He'd, in effect, be moving five times faster than normal for three seconds. He felt the influence of [Dagger Proficiency] as he activated [Backstab] and stabbed the noble beside him in the back. No protections activated as he felt his palm burn, like he'd grabbed a hot coal.

"Fuck!" He felt amazing. A flash of memory from the female assassin stabbing a noble in the back and through a kidney. The blade felt part of him. What was that? The memory was gone, but the technique remained. He had no time to think about it. He twisted the blade free and sliced it across the young girl's neck as Olivia's eyes opened in slow motion. He felt a wave of power flood through him as she died. She crumpled to the floor, her blood spraying over the white rune in slow motion.

The rune glowed a dull red as it absorbed the young blood mage's blood. Ten left. A new pseudo skill formed as he ran to the next noble in line while activating [Assassin's Mark]. Healthy, entranced, minor armour, protections. It was a young man in his late teens with a sword at his side. He guessed he was a warrior, but could've been a knight or another class, and he just liked swords. Who knew with nobles?

Jack prayed he wasn't protected against blades as he activated [Assassinate] and dragged his blade across the man's throat, then plunged it into his chest as his second cull dropped to the floor. Another flash of memory. The female assassin plunging Jack's dagger through the temple of an old grinning man. Again, his palm burned, and he felt like he could run a marathon as the memory slipped away, but the technique remained. Fuck. I'm killing in cold blood. Despite feeling sick at what he was doing, he didn't stop.

He had to kill them all for his crazy plan to work. The young noble's blood covered the white rune; it glowed an ominous red as it absorbed his life force. Nine. Another new pseudo skill formed. With no time to waste, he drew the sword from the corpse's side, looked at Kendrel, and cast [Assassin's Mark]. Healthy, entranced, major armour, protections. Time returned to normal; fifteen seconds had passed for Jack, three for the others. He's got to be an Apprentice Mage.

If he were right, that would make him the biggest threat in the chamber. Kendrel stood behind the white rune behind Cain, still chanting.

"I pray this works," Jack whispered before running towards Kendrel while activating the pseudo warrior [First Strike] skill. It was the first time activating a pseudo skill. Jack surged forward. One blink and he was in front of Kendrel. He aimed for the blood mage's neck. The sword's blade sheared through Kendrel's face just above the jawline to the now familiar itching right palm and surge of power. Teeth, blood, and two-thirds of a head splattered across the chamber floor.

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"Shit! That was… strange." He also noticed his palm itched rather than burned this time. The power from the three blood mage kills was intoxicating; he felt as if he could do anything. Jack had to steady himself as the noble's headless form hit the ground before his body knew it was dead. Another pseudo skill formed. He ignored it. He had no time to understand how a new skill might be useful. More blood poured onto a white rune, causing it to glow bright red as it absorbed an Apprentice Mage's blood.

The white line connecting the outer rune to the central rune flashed red and pulsed towards Cain. Jack had no time to think about what was happening. There were still eight nobles alive. Eight threats. He knelt and touched the [Chronos Sphere] spell scroll.

"[Chronos Sphere]." The white rune beneath Kendrel's corpse and the paint line leading towards Cain crackled before burning to nothing in a puff of smoke. Time slowed as he ran towards Cain.

"By the Gods!" Jack paused at what he saw. All of Cain's scars were gone, and his right arm was regenerating in real time. He could see the bone, blood vessels, and muscles form as the forearm and hand reformed. Jack pulled himself together and sliced through the rope binding Cain's left arm. Time returned to normal as Cain's eyes flared in shock as his right arm finished growing. As the fingernails regrew and the dark hairs on the back of his hand appeared, he clenched his new right hand.

Jack handed him the sword.

"We have to kill them all," he whispered.

"We have seconds before they wake." He could see some of the nobles beginning to come around, and the rune formation was faltering. He placed a mark on his next target. Healthy, entranced, no armour, protections. Cain felt the familiar feel of a sword in his right hand and smiled. Still gagged, he nodded once and hacked through the ropes on his legs. Jack didn't wait; drawing his dagger, he ran at the marked noble, activated [Assassinate] and stabbed him in the throat as his victim's eyes opened wide.

A flash of memory: his dagger being slid under the armpit of a knight dressed in plate armour as he raised a sword. The memory faded like a dream, but the technique buried itself deep in his mind. His palm burned again, and the surge in power was like the first two blood mage kills. It's the dagger. It has to be. He realised the only difference between killing Kendrel and the others was the dagger. While he ripped his dagger free, another pseudo skill formed.

Holding the blade felt right, like it was a part of him; he was an assassin born of blood. Blood sprayed across the nearest ritual rune, causing it to glow red, absorbing the life essence. Seven. Jack snatched a bloody [Chronos Sphere] scroll from beside the corpse, activated it, and rushed to the next rune while casting [Assassin's Mark] and [Assassinate]. He slit the girl's throat before her hands could rise in slow motion. Another memory flash; his dagger plunging deep into the back of a man's skull.

More power, more burning of his palm, and another pseudo skill. Six. Cain had freed himself; he moved behind Jack in slow motion. All his injuries were healed. He ran towards a noble and swung hard. The blade met collarbone before slicing deep into the teen's chest and lungs. Jack witnessed it all in slow motion as he threw smoke bombs at two nobles on the opposite side of the chamber. This slowed time is both useful and weird.

Time returned to normal for Jack as he cast [Assassin's Mark] on his next target, the chanting stopped, and the trance shattered. Healthy, confused, minor armour, protections. As the blood ritual spluttered to a halt, the five remaining nobles' eyes snapped open. Two were engulfed in smoke from Jack's smoke bombs. Panic erupted in the chamber, and three nobles ran for the exit. [Assassin's Intuition] triggered.

Jack stabbed a fleeing blonde noble in the back with [Backstab] and threw a blinding powder and an [Assassin's Mark] at Fenton. Healthy, panicked, minor armour, protections. The blinded noble screamed as he ran into a wall with a thud and fell. Jack felt his palm burn and the power surge as he finished off a noble with blonde hair by slitting their throat from behind, with the assistance of [Assassinate]. Another flash of memory; the female assassin instantly vanishing within a deep shadow.

Another kill and a pseudo skill formed. Cain killed a young woman as she begged for her life while rubbing smoke from her eyes. She died with a sword to the gut. He kicked her off his sword while removing the gag from his mouth. [Assassin's Intuition] pinged as a young woman nocked an arrow, drew back her bow, and aimed at Jack's chest. Her arms trembled from fear. Jack spun, his left hand already touching the scrolls in his breast pocket.

"[Frost Breath]," he said. The scroll disintegrated in his pocket while a freezing plume of air engulfed the young archer. She screamed as she loosed her arrow in a panic. A blue protective shield had formed around her, protecting her from the cold air.

"Fuuck!" Jack screamed in pain as the arrow scraped across his cheek and tore his left ear to shreds. Blood ran down his face and neck. A moment later, the archer's protective shield spluttered out as one of her enchanted coat buttons disintegrated. About half the freezing plume of air still covered her. She fell to the ground with frostbite, but she was still alive.

"M-mercy," she begged.

"P-lease. My f-father will p-pay y-you." [Assassin's Intuition] flared as another noble with wild eyes and an even wilder sword swing charged at Jack. He ducked under the sword, used [Assassinate] and stabbed his dagger into the teenager's ribs before twisting the blade; he felt it scrape against bone. His right palm flared; the heat burned, but it didn't make him stop as another memory surfaced of the female assassin slicing a dagger-wielding assassin's wrists to disarm them.

The boy with the nervous legs twitched; his eyes widened in pain and shock as his sword clattered to the ground. Jack felt no emotions as Cain beheaded the boy in a flurry of blood. He felt the power surge as his damaged cheek and ear itched. The feeling was intoxicating as another pseudo skill formed. Smoke and the iron-rich smell of blood filled the chamber. There was a hint of urine in the air where more than one young noble had pissed themselves.

Cain grunted; blood was running down his left arm from a minor wound. Weak groans from the frost-bitten archer drew Jack's attention. Activating [Assassinate], he killed the groaning noble with a dagger strike through the heart. More power… another skill and a flash of the female assassin's memories of plunging a dagger up through the jaw of a young woman. He had no room for remorse; he felt intoxicated with power. All dead. For a moment, he felt compelled to hunt down Baron Greaves and the other blood mages.

I should kill them all. He shook the suicidal thought away. The room fell to silence as Jack staggered back to the centre. Adrenaline and the power surges were still taking their toll. Cain's chest heaved, and his sword dripped with blood. The giant adventurer was smiling as he looked at his regrown hand. Eleven nobles… d ead. It actually worked. Jack breathed a sigh of relief and placed his hand on Cain's shoulder.

"You good?" Cain nodded.

"You?" Jack touched his ear; it was a bloody mess, but he felt no pain.

"My ear. My ear is…"

"It doesn't look too bad. I've had worse… but it grew back." Cain chuckled.

"No. My ear is fine." Jack wiped away the blood.

"It healed! Look." Cain leaned in and laughed. They both laughed. Jack's laugh had an edge of nervousness to it. My ear and cheek healed. Is that a blood mage thing? My hand as well. He hadn't noticed at first, but the dagger cut he'd given to his left hand to avoid the ritual trance had also healed. There wasn't even a scar.