"Haah, there goes my loot," Rex sighed, looking at the corpse of the man who had just stepped out of the room, disregarding the lifeless body. They stepped over him and entered the room, an eerie silence permeating throughout.
"Rurik, your skill is really handy," Rex complimented, but even that was silenced. Shaking his head, he focused on the scene playing out before him.
The moment they entered, the last man from Room 2 attacked.
Darius, who was standing ready, blocked the attack with his sword— but before the clang of metal could echo, the sound's vibration was completely silenced.
The last man, named Ferentus, and Darius fought fiercely. Although the sounds were silenced, the tension was still palpable on Darius's face—he was fighting a losing battle, a clear sign of inexperience.
Rex noticed the taming progress jumping numbers instead of moving gradually. A small smile played on his lips.
After a few moments, seeing Darius on the defensive with no opportunity to strike back, Rex hurled his dagger at the man.
Injured and distracted, Darius took advantage and swiped his sword horizontally—his target, the neck. With a fierce motion, the man's head fell lifelessly on the wooden floor.
[Tamed Entity: {Ferentus}] has perished.
Loyalty at death: 40%
Choose Action: [Tame Soul] / [Devour Entity]
"Huff… Huff… I thought you would never help," Darius complained, his fingers aching from the impact of blocking Ferentus's attacks.
"Blame Rurik. I did cheer you but his skill made sure you didn't hear anything." Rex pointed at Rurik, who shuddered when Darius's eyes looked at him sharply.
Rex smiled. "Anyway, look at your feet. Can you see that orb?" he gestured at the spot near the man's dead body.
Darius picked up the orb and questioned, "This? I've seen it in your hands a few times. Mind telling me what's it now?" He glanced at Rex with a curious gaze. While holding the orb.
Rex shook his head. "Just use it and see for yourself. Other than that, I won't speak."
Darius exhaled and used the orb. A skill book flickered into his hands. His eyes widened with shock as Rex had given him something very similar.
Darius glanced back at Rex. Seeing how only an amused smile played on his lips, he sighed and focused back on learning the skill in his hands.
[Congratulations, Darius has obtained...]
[Skill Book… x1]
The only reason Darius could use the orb and learn the skill was because Rex was nearby and had allowed it.
As the knowledge filled him, the skill's information became clear in his head.
[Noise Clone] :: Mimics a sound at a location within 20 meters to distract enemies. Only one clone can exist at a time.
[System Notice: {Darius} | Packtkeeper: 12% ⤊]
[Name: Darius]
[Entity: Human]
[Rank: Ascender 1–Star]
[Packtkeeper Loyalty: +12%]
[Skills: Blink Slash, Noise Clone]
"Did you learn it?" Rex asked with a small, knowing smile as Darius still couldn't process how any of this worked. Yet, he had learned to ignore things—until Rex himself chose to reveal them.
Darius nodded back, his eyes gleaming with resolve. The once distant dream of becoming stronger now seemed just within reach. "Thank you," he spoke gently.
Rex nodded with a dismissive wave as if it were nothing of importance. "you killed the man, you earned it" he said nonchalantly, and changed his expression as he continued.
"Now, our final target is a 3–Star Ascender boss. He uses dual axes as a skill—at least, that's what the Remnant Shard showed," Rex explained.
The sound-barrier skill user, Rurik, confirmed with a solemn nod, still unaware of what Rex and Darius were speaking about earlier. And then, there was also the soul form.
Yet, none dared to question anything about him; everyone just followed the flow.
One thing to note: not even ten minutes had passed since Rex entered the building.
He was killing stealthily while moving swiftly.
Now, having cleared the second room, the strange party stood in the hallway. A slightly larger door loomed ahead.
Their once-clean clothes had long since turned bloody.
Rex gazed at the door. Exhaling deeply, he pushed it open with confidence.
A large chamber stretched before him, thrice the size of the previous rooms. Two men gazed sharply at him as he walked in with calm steps, holding the sound-barrier man as hostage. Darius followed behind, carefully scanning the surroundings.
"Who are you?" a similar looking man spoke while sitting on a throne-like chair, skimming through a stack of papers handed to him by the man beside him.
Rex quickly checked their status as a panel flashed before him.
[Name: Giroldus]
[Rank: Ascender 3–Star]
[Potential: F]
[Would you like to tame {Giroldus} - Y/N]
--
[Name: Murik]
[Rank: Ascender 2–Star]
[Potential: F]
[Would you like to tame {Murik} - Y/N]
--
"Brother, please save me from this cold-blooded monster!" the hostage named Rurik shouted with all his strength. When he looked at his brother Murik, a glimmer of hope crossed his eyes.
[Taming in progress: {Murik (2–Star) | Giroldus (3–Star)}]
Not minding the shout, Rex halted at a safe distance from Giroldus and Murik.
"What are you doing, boy? Free him now, or I shall show you what hell truly is!" Murik roared in anger as he saw his brother's leg missing below the knee.
Giroldus, a bulky man with a small scar running across his forehead, watched silently. He was the same man Rex had seen while using the Remnant Shard, after devouring the assassins.
Watching, As Rex took no action against the hostage, Giroldus frowned and stood up—
Rex and Darius immediately lost control of their bodies, collapsing to the floor with a low thud. The soul form withered out of existence without resistance.
Shock—and a flicker of fear—flashed in Rex's eyes as he realized he couldn't move a single part of his body. Darius, feeling the same, locked eyes with him.
But they weren't the only ones—shocked expressions also crossed Murik's and his younger brother Rurik's faces.
"Giroldus… what is the meaning of this? You've been hiding a skill?!"
The taming progress crawled like a snail. The boss wasn't even slightly worried about Rex, which was reflected in his slow progress.
On the other hand, Murik's concern for his younger brother quickened his own progress.
Incapacitated, Rex gathered his mana near his mouth and resisted whatever the boss was doing to him. After some struggle, he finally managed to open his mouth.
"Please… listen, Giroldus," Rex rumbled.
Giroldus narrowed his eyes as the voice reached his ear. After Rex focused everything into his mouth, speaking wasn't hard. After all, the difference in their rank was—one star.
Even though Rex couldn't move his body, what better weapon than a tongue?