Chương 120: Chapter 105 – A Fatal Mistake

The blood-soaked stranger lay sprawled at Cade's feet, his chest rising and falling in ragged breaths as though every inhale hurt. Cade frowned. Either the man was in shock, or he hit his head hard on something. He reached down and wrapped a hand around the stranger's forearm before effortlessly pulling him to his feet. The man weighed almost nothing.

"Are you alright?" Cade asked as he brushed a layer of dirt from the man's shoulder while simultaneously activating his newly upgraded [Greater Identify]. Earl Cathan— Level 19 Race: Human (F-rank) Highest Attribute: Strength: 80 Only level nineteen? Damn, I guess I'm not too far behind after all. Then again, it doesn't say if that's his Class or Race level or a combination of the two. As he looked at the man, something else caught Cade's attention.

Faint streams of orange trickled through the man's body, flowing through branching pathways beneath his skin much like blood through veins, converging and separating before disappearing deeper into his torso. What is that? It reminded him vaguely of life essence. However, life essence also appeared within the man as the same vibrant green he had grown accustomed to seeing ever since gaining [Essence Sight]. These orange streams were different from life essence, but Cade didn't know exactly what they were.

Before Cade could study them further, the man finally found his voice.

"I—uh— we… we gotta run." His words tumbled over one another as though he couldn't force them out fast enough.

"There's... there's a guy." The stranger swallowed hard.

"Richard. His fucking shadows are coming. He's a monster." The man's breathing quickened.

"Killed an entire camp full of people. My friends... gone" His voice faltered before he forced himself onward.

"He's chasing me now." The casual curiosity Cade had felt only moments earlier vanished. This man, Earl, was being chased by another human who killed an entire camp? Why would humans kill other humans? Weren't there enough monsters in the swamp already?

"You don't understand," Earl continued, desperation creeping into every word.

"He's killed dozens. Maybe hundreds. He'll kill us too if we don't move. He's right behind me and—""Well," a smooth voice interrupted, "I certainly hope I haven't made that poor of an impression." Cade turned toward the newcomer and saw a lone man emerge from the treeline with an unsettling smile spread across his face. Behind him were ten creatures unlike anything Cade had ever seen. His attention immediately snapped toward them.

Not because of their grotesque appearance but because what he saw within the strange creatures fascinated him. Dark blue lines coursed through every one, branching and weaving together into something resembling channels. Instead of flesh, however, those channels were connected by shifting masses of a black, sludge-like substance that flowed and reformed within them. They weren't alive either. Unlike Earl and every other living thing he'd seen, none of the creatures possessed the vibrant green lines of life essence.

Instead, dark blue lines pulsed rhythmically through their black masses, almost as though the blue lines alone sustained them. Is that mana? His eyes itched. Multicolored lightning briefly flashed across his vision before fading into the background. The Primordial Heartwood Rhizome was still repairing his eyes and clearly whatever changes the rhizome was making weren't finished yet. Earl's grip on his arm tightened, causing Cade to glance back at the trembling man.

The orange flowing through Earl's body had intensified noticeably, surging rapidly through his flesh, particularly around his legs. Interesting... Fear seemed to increase whatever the orange substance was but it was clear that Earl was running on fumes.

"That the guy?" Cade asked.

"Yes, that's Richard," Earl whispered hoarsely.

"And we need to go. Now." Cade looked back toward the approaching man. He seemed pretty ordinary, aside from the shadow creatures following him. But who was he to judge? Cade didn't know the full story, maybe those creatures were his protectors or something. However, the more Cade looked at Richard the more unease he felt in his gut. The polite smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, the way his posture remained completely relaxed despite the monstrous escorts surrounding him, the too calm demeanor.

Something was definitely off about Richard.

"Hey!" Cade yelled. The smiling man stopped.

"Hmm?" Cade gestured casually toward the creatures prowling around him.

"Are you here to kill us?" The man's smile widened.

"That was the plan." Okay, that was fucking creepy. Earl let out a strangled noise beside him.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed. Before Cade could answer, five of the shadow creatures launched themselves forward. They crossed the stone platform in the blink of an eye. They were fast but Cade didn't even bother moving. Instead, he willed his [Mantle of Dissolution] into motion and he immediately felt his Core pump essence into his channels. Pearlescent white erupted around him in a swirling storm as an Ashen Vortex enveloped both him and Earl in a shimmering whirlwind of ash.

The first shadow slammed into the wall of white. Its dark blue channels and black flesh dissolved into nothingness as the creature fell prey to Cade's Law-bound skill. One after another, the remaining four creatures met the same fate as they ran headfirst into the small vortex around him. They unraveled almost instantly, leaving only faint traces of mana the mantle greedily consumed before spiraling back into Cade's cloak. A pitiful trickle of pure essence flowed into his channels.

Whatever those constructs were, they contained far less than he'd expected. With that out of the way Cade willed his mantle to stop. The white particles slowed before quietly settling back into the folds of his cloak. Silence returned to the stone dais. Cade blinked. That had been easier than expected, those creatures must have been pretty weak. Maybe that's why that Richard guy had ten of them. He must have been going for a quantity over quality build. He looked over at Earl, who stood with his mouth hanging open.

"You…" he whispered.

"You just…" Offering the man another hand, Cade smiled politely.

"Sorry, I'm Cade. Good to meet you." His expression grew more serious.

"Now why don't you explain why Richard here is trying to kill us?" Earl continued staring at Cade, dumbfounded. His mouth opened and closed and Cade was sure he was doing his best impression of a fish.

"You..." He pointed weakly toward where the creatures had vanished.

"They... you just..." He shook his head hard enough that Cade wondered if he was trying to give himself brain damage. Cade waited patiently until eventually, Earl managed to gather enough of his thoughts into something resembling a sentence.

"How'd you do that?" he blurted.

"Those things nearly tore me a new one. I'm sure Richard used them to rip through the entire camp and you..." He gestured helplessly toward Cade's cloak.

"You just erased them as simply as washing chalk off of a sidewalk." Cade hesitated. That wasn't a question he wanted to answer. The man standing before him was a complete stranger. Sure, Earl seemed terrified and it did seem like Richard wanted to kill him, but that wasn't exactly a reason to gush out his secrets. Cade had only just returned to the Tutorial. The last thing he wanted was to reveal every ability he possessed to the first human he met. Keep it simple.

Earl had already witnessed his [Mantle of Dissolution]. There was no point pretending otherwise. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"They weren't especially strong," Cade said with a small shrug.

"Maybe the ones you fought were stronger… or maybe my… uh… magic is just strong against them." Earl blinked.

"... Magic?"

"Now," Cade said as he nodded once and steered the conversation back on track, "why exactly is Richard trying to kill us?" Earl finally seemed to regain control of himself.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" The larger man shook his head vigorously.

"I swear I don't. Richard was leading this camp of survivors out in the swamp." His expression darkened.

"I stumbled across the remains of it earlier today."

"And?"

"There weren't nobody left." The words came out barely above a whisper.

"Just bodies. Lots of bodies." A cold knot formed in Cade's stomach.

"Then Richard showed up. Came out of the trees with those shadow monsters. Said he killed them all and then I tried to kill him but his monsters were too much. I had to run and they started chasing me." Cade frowned. That was certainly concerning, and Earl seemed earnest, but it was also just one side of the story. People almost always told events from their own perspective, leaving out details they considered unimportant—or inconvenient.

Cade turned toward the man standing at the far edge of the stone platform to find Richard had stopped walking. The easy smile that had adorned his face moments earlier had vanished entirely. One eye twitched as he stared at the empty stretch of stone where five of his shadow creatures had been dissolved.

"Richard," Cade called out.

"Care to explain why you're trying to kill us?" As Richard locked eyes with him, Cade silently activated [Greater Identify]. Richard Monger — Level 30 Race: Human (F-rank) Highest Attribute: Intelligence — 148 Cade blinked as he focused on the screen in his mind. Level thirty was pretty high but why did he only have 148 Intelligence if that was his highest stat? Cade brought up his own status screen to double check and he had 125 and was only level 17. Plus he didn't have the advantage of whatever a Class gave.

Maybe Richard had distributed his points more evenly instead of specializing? Cade was tempted to ask but before he could, Richard let out an incredulous laugh.

"Trying to kill you?" he repeated. His expression settled back into his too polished smile.

"My friend," Richard said warmly, "I believe there's been a terrible misunderstanding." As he spoke, Cade noticed something strange. The dark blue lines flowing throughout Richard's body suddenly brightened around his mouth and throat. Blue light rushed through the branching channels in his neck before pooling around his mouth like liquid. Cade's brow furrowed. What's happening? The effect was unmistakable.

Even from the opposite side of the stone platform, he could clearly see the blue concentrating around Richard's throat and mouth.

"My name is Richard," the man continued pleasantly.

"I'm simply trying to apprehend a dangerous criminal. That man slaughtered dozens of innocent survivors in my camp." The instant the words left Richard's mouth, Cade felt something brush against his thoughts. It was gentle, almost impossible to notice. Like warm water washing over his mind, numbing his senses and dulling his thoughts. Then Cade's Law Sprout of Inviolable Self sent a pulse that rippled through his soul and the strange sensation vanished in an instant. Gone as if it never existed.

Beside him, Earl's eyes widened.

"I didn't kill nobody!" he shouted. Richard didn't even acknowledge the interruption.

"He murdered an entire camp," Richard said sadly.

"I've spent days tracking him through the swamp so he can answer for his crimes. I intended only to kill him. You, my friend in white, are free to leave." Again the blue lines surged when Richard spoke and again Cade's Law Sprout of Inviolable Self pulsed through his soul, tearing apart whatever magic Richard was trying to cast.

"I've killed swamp monsters!" Earl snapped.

"Lots of 'em! But I ain't killed another person in the Tutorial!" Richard sighed theatrically.

"It truly is unfortunate how often murderers deny responsibility. My friend, if you wouldn't mind apprehending Earl for me I'll be sure to reward you handsomely for your assistance." This time Cade was ready and as Richard spoke, he used [Greater Identify] and a new screen popped into his mind. [Silver Tongue (epic)] — Your words carry an unnatural weight, allowing you to subtly influence the thoughts of those who hear them.

Your arguments are more convincing, lies become more believable, and those who listen grow increasingly receptive to your suggestions, especially when reinforcing thoughts they already possess. The more mana spent on this skill, the more powerful the effect. Cade read through the skill description and his jaw tightened. Someone actually chose this skill? The thought deeply disturbed him. The skill wasn't designed to defend its user or help them survive.

It existed for one purpose and one purpose alone—to manipulate. His gaze drifted back to Richard. The man still wore that creepy ass smile as he waited patiently for Cade to fall under his spell. He was trying to influence me. This dick is nothing compared to Sildraxa's influence but still, fuck him. Someone willing to tamper with another person's mind couldn't be trusted. Cade cycled essence within his body and moved. It only took three strides to cross the stone dais.

Richard's confident smile disappeared as Cade's hand shot forward. His fingers wrapped around Richard's throat before the man could say another word. The difference in strength startled him as Richard's neck felt... Fragile. The flesh yielded beneath Cade's grip more easily than expected. For an instant he feared he might crush the man's windpipe outright and he instinctively relaxed his fingers just enough to keep that from happening.

His flesh is weaker than that lightning-gorged leech I ripped apart under the Great Tree. But how was that possible? Richard was level thirty. Cade expected someone that high level to possess a body far tougher than his own. Then again Richard's highest attribute was Intelligence, and Cade had already seen him relying on summoned creatures. He was probably a mage first and foremost. The remaining five shadow horrors lunged but Cade didn't even look at them.

His [Mantle of Dissolution] responded before he consciously issued the command. White ash exploded outward from his cloak, enveloping him and disintegrating the creatures the instant they touched it. Dark blue lines unraveled. Black sludge evaporated into pure essence. Cade felt a trickle return to his channels through the mantle but it was a pitiful amount. This man and his creations were pathetic. Richard's eyes widened as his feet left the ground.

He frantically clawed at Cade's wrist, fingernails scraping uselessly across skin that refused to yield. His legs flailed wildly, trying to find any weak spot on Cade's body they could impact. But no matter how much Richard struggled, Cade's arm didn't budge an inch. Richard was higher level. He had a Class and a System Core since the beginning of the Tutorial. He had so much time to learn how to fight. How to defend himself. Yet here he was struggling against an opponent nearly half his own level.

Richard's face steadily reddened as he ineffectually flailed against Cade's one-handed grasp around his throat. Seeing the man struggle made pity well up inside of Cade. Would Richard have turned out different if he wasn't offered a System Core? Or was he rotten before the System arrived? What would make this man pick a Class that would give him such a horrible skill as [Silver Tongue]? Was he always manipulative or was this his way of trying to survive the Tutorial?

But answers to those questions wouldn't change the situation. Richard had chosen that skill. He had chosen to manipulate. Nobody had forced him. Even if the System did force him to pick whatever Class he had, it didn't force him to actively use the skill. As Richard began turning purple, Cade remembered the promise he made to himself within Cynthia's Legacy. Any creature that tried to fuck with his mind deserved to die.

It was a shame that the second human he encountered after returning to the Tutorial had immediately tried to do exactly that. His grip tightened and Richard's struggles became more frantic. As Cade was looking into Richard's eyes, waiting for the light to leave them, something in his peripheral caught his attention. A small silver sphere in the middle of Richard's abdomen was sending pulses of blue and orange throughout his body. Is that a System Core?

Wait, what would happen if I destroyed his Core instead of killing him? Would that cripple him just like in the stories I used to read before the System arrived? Curious, Cade closed his eyes and directed his awareness toward his [Mantle of Dissolution] as he gave it a direct command. As he did, his Law Seed of Dissolution pulsed within his soul. Enter his channels. Find his Core. And dissolve it. Break it down until nothing is left. The ash composing his mantle obeyed instantly.

Tiny white motes slipped through Richard's body as though his flesh barely existed. Cade followed them with his awareness, experiencing the journey through the mantle itself. Richard's channels unfolded before him. Twisting and turning in a complex network of branches. The ash drifted deeper until it encountered something solid. The Core. Unlike Cade's own black-and-white sphere fused to the root of his Law Sprout, Richard's Core felt... artificial. It felt perfectly smooth and unnaturally uniform.

His channels seemed to be merged with it, but Cade felt something was off. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to experiment more, just because Richard was a mind-controlling bastard and potential murderer, that didn't mean he deserved to be tortured. So without hesitation, Cade willed for his ash to flood across the Core's smooth surface and to his surprise, it began to dissolve far more easily than he expected.

Layers peeled away under the ash's dissolving touch, crumbling into wisps of essence that fed back to Cade through the tether to his mantle. He quickly reached the very center of the Core, and within it, Cade found an impossibly thin line that extended beyond the Core itself. In the back of his mind, Cade knew where this line went, but curiosity still stirred within him. While most of the ash continued reducing the Core to nothing, Cade separated a small portion and instructed it to follow the line.

It stretched farther than he expected but his ash diligently followed. At the end of the line floated something unlike any essence he had ever encountered. It had no clear shape. No distinct color. It resembled a small, amorphous knot of shimmering energy that seemed to exist somewhere between matter and light. Is that? No it can't be. But maybe… His curiosity won out. Surround it. The ash flowed obediently around the strange substance. Now bring it back.

All at once the mass of ash that surrounded the strange substance launched itself back up the line, out of the remnants of the dissolving Core, through Richard's channels, and out of his body. As soon as the colorless bundle left, Richard's body went limp. His hands slid harmlessly from Cade's wrist. His legs stopped kicking. The light in his eyes dulled. Cade's ash carrying the colorless, amorphous blob flowed back to his mantle and into his channels. At the same instant, a familiar chime echoed through his mind.

Ding! You have defeated [Richard Monger — Level 30]. You have gained additional experience for killing a Human above your level. Race: [Human – (F)] has reached Level 18. +2 to all stats. Race: [Human – (F)] has reached Level 19. +2 to all stats. Race: [Human – (F)] has reached Level 20. +2 to all stats.