Chương 30: The Camp

Kayzen cleared his mind of all distractions as he held the red blob of bloodline in his hand. The Ravager Archwolf was strong, stronger than any foe he had directly faced. There was no way he would be able to use his Hex as he pleased against someone like that. At the same time though, only enemies like these would help him grow on his path of a Warden of Records. Kayzen knew that none of his records would be able to suppress the Archwolf on their own like he did with the fiends.

Thus, the only option left for him was to use his authority and imprison its records. It was fortunate that he had obtained the perfect medium. He clenched his right hand that held the blob of bloodline, and guided by the flow of Ether, it twisted, churned, and eventually formed a six-sided polygon. Kayzen looked at the Archwolf that was lunging at Vasser and decided to disable its most annoying ability: Cannibalism. As soon as he made his decision, the Hex from his hand vanished and manifested above the Ravager.

The effect of the Hex was immediate. The Archwolf hissed in anger, and all eight of its eyes focused on Kayzen. It ignored Vasser and everyone else and made a run for him. It had recognized that the greatest threat to its life was none other than the white-haired man. Kayzen, though, was prepared. He had already activated Phantom Shift, and the Ravager could do nothing as its steel-like limbs passed through his body.

Based on the feedback he received after suppressing records, Kayzen knew that he could do it one more time. He took out another blob from his backpack and stared at the eight eyes of the Ravager. Now the question was which ability he should be sealing next. There was always a chance that the enemy was hiding some sort of a trump card, but Kayzen didn't hesitate much longer. They needed to end this fight as soon as possible in order to minimize casualties. For that, the records he needed to suppress were obvious.

Kayzen clenched his fist and once again, another Hex manifested above the Archwolf. All eight of its eyes lost their luster in the next instant. The records for night sight were sealed. Vasser had been waiting for just such a moment. She channeled Ether and divine law into her fist and took on a crouching stance. Under normal circumstances, the Ravager wouldn't allow anyone to charge up their attack, but it was getting flustered after having two of its abilities sealed.

The mercenaries also chimed in and threw one attack after another at the Ravager. None of them managed to deal any significant damage, but what mattered right now was the fact that the elite Archwolf was losing its sense of direction and where the true threat was coming from. It flailed around its limbs and shot acidic webs in every direction. Some unfortunate mercenaries were even hit straight on their faces by the webs, dying a gruesome death shortly after. Such was the nature of survival.

Everything could change in a single instant. It was for times like these that Kayzen had focused on his defensive ability before going towards the offensive. Thanks to his Phantom Shift, he remained unharmed throughout the skirmish. To his pleasant surprise, there was another big change on the Archwolf. His Hexes were actively degrading the Ravager's records. This was the effect of his debuffing authority that came with the path of a Warden of Records.

The debuffs were related to the abilities he already had, such as the Phototoxin and Pain resistance.

"In the name of Argia, SHATTER!" Vasser bellowed and jumped right on the head of the archwolf. Her fist glowing like the midday sun smashed into its head and pulverized it with sheer brute force. For a moment, the entire forest brightened up under the power of the divine law. She had placed all of her strength under that attack, and not even a Ravager was able to survive after that. The gigantic Archwolf staggered and fell down limply on the ground with its legs facing skywards. The fight was finally over.

Kayzen felt an electrifying sensation as he looked at the corpse. This was the result of him walking further on his path. He had imprisoned the records of someone stronger than him, and doing so had resulted in him getting stronger. The sigil on his chest flared to life and absorbed the surrounding Ether like a ravenous beast. It was a wonderful feeling as Kayzen felt his records improve in real time. This also left him feeling a strange state of hunger. A Warden trapped Ether into their own body to progress.

Now that his capacity had increased, he needed something more than just natural flowing Ether to grow stronger. Namely, beast blood or plant extract. It just so happened that there was a target right in front of him. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Kayzen walked towards the corpse and activated his ability of bloodline extraction. Its execution was a bit more difficult compared to the last time, yet the result remained the same.

The corpse of the elite Archwolf shrunk at a visible rate and soon turned into a greenish red blob which was a foot in diameter. This could potentially serve as a perfect medium for targeting even stronger Archwolves, yet Kayzen didn't hesitate and pressed the sphere against his chest. What mattered the most was his own personal strength. Take today, for example. If his Phantom Shift didn't work due to his lacking records or Ether capacity, then it would be him who died first.

As much as his Hex were important, survival and improving his own records was just as, if not more important. On the other side, Vasser helped the mercenaries kill off the straggling Archwolves and cleared the site. By the time everyone returned to the central area, all that was left was Kayzen who was sitting cross-legged, and four fangs. Kayzen felt the mercenary captain's hesitation as he looked at the meter-long fangs in front of him.

He didn't think that the captain was greedy enough for some loot, so he asked him up front about it.

"Do you need them for something?"

"Indeed. It may be shameless of me to ask for since you two have done most of the work, but I would appreciate it if you could give me one of the fangs. It might be required for me to complete my mission and perhaps even join Zephyr."

"Go ahead. You can have all of them if you want, but in that case, you'll have to give something of value in return."

"Sounds perfect. How about I pay you up in contribution points? If we get to join Zephyr after submitting these fangs, then all of our contribution points will belong to you." Kayzen and Vasser looked at one another and nodded in the end. They didn't know how much value the contribution points had, but these fangs were mostly useless for them. Even for a Hex medium, Kayzen preferred to work with something smaller. These fangs were more suitable to be made into weapons like shortswords.

The group looked around to find any traces of the caravan, but it turned out to be a futile attempt. Not a single one of the merchants had survived, and even finding their remains was difficult. All they could do was incinerate the corpses of the dead mercenaries. It was a cruel reality that doused their spirits after earning a victory. After the descent of Akashic records and the rift, every day was getting more dangerous as well as full of opportunity.

All they could do is move along the currents of the new era and try their best to emerge victorious. Kayzen and Vasser followed Torim and trekked back towards the campsite. As they walked along the cold wind of early dawn, the forest became thinner in their vision. The land bore the marks of human activities. The trees were chopped down and the chirping of insects was no longer to be heard. Pillars of smoke rose up into the sky and met the scattered clouds, creating a beautiful sight.

They had arrived at the campsite just when people were going for their first meal. The aroma of meat and spices made the group's stomachs grumble. After a night of running and slaughter they needed something to fill up their energy reserves.

"Care to join us for a meal?" Torim asked.

"A Pleasure. We'll be bothering you to introduce this place." Kayzen replied as he looked ahead. Right ahead was a wooden barricade, and the soldiers on guard were looking at them in wariness. After seeing the familiar faces of the mercenaries, they let them pass without any issue. Kayzen and Vasser looked around the campsite as this was a novel sight even for them. This place was different from any outpost they had seen.

Rather than calling it a military encampment, it was more apt to call it something between a supply point and a fledgling town. Just from a glance they could tell that there were hundreds of people living here. Even though most of them had a profession related to hunting or killing monsters, this didn't mean that they didn't have any daily needs. The sense of security and potential wealth had drawn in those with crafting abilities as well, resulting in this lively space.

"Come. We don't have a fancy inn or anything, but the chef here cooks fine meals." Torim led the group straight to the canteen hall, which was the most populated area at the moment. Fresh scent of bread and brewing broth filled their noses once again as the group sat down on the wooden tables. Soon, the standard breakfast was served on the platters: a loaf of bread, some herbal stew, and a couple of fruits. It wasn't a fancy meal by any chance, but it had its own charm.

"Look, that's the contribution board." Vasser elbowed Kayzen and drew his attention to a large Ether screen at the center of the canteen. This was perhaps the first time they were seeing a functioning Ether display ever since that fateful day. What shocked them even more was the items present on the board. Weapons, armors, ability stones, rift artifacts, and a lot of other strange things extracted from the various rifts. The board was divided in two sections.

One of them was fixed and sold various standard things, such as a 100 contribution points for a standard weapon and armor, 50 contribution points for 500 arrows or crossbow bolts, plus various prices for food and other necessary things. What was interesting was the other side of the board, one that was constantly changing. There, various items were put on sale by the people on this camp and even from beyond. This was akin to a live trading market conducted throughout the empire.

This wasn't something unprecedented, however, its importance was all the more relevant due to the isolation caused by the apocalypse. Kayzen was just looking at it casually when one of the lines caused his eyes to widen. He had found the target for his future ability.