The sight flashed away.
'Wha…'
Draven was about to think about it when he felt his head become heavier than his body could carry. He stretched to hold the wall, but his vision darkened.
***
Draven's eye flickered open. His vision was woozy, and his ceiling felt distant in his sight. Blinking, he rubbed his eyes and lazily sat up with a groan.
He mumbled, "What happened? I feel like…", but his voice trailed off as he remembered that red, blinking panel.
Draven lost his laziness and summoned his Elite Panel:
–––
[Name]: Draven
[Class]: None
[Race]: Human
[Legacy]: Soul Mystic (Sealed)
[Rank]: Transient
[Order]: Second
[Soul Vitalis]: 0
[Mana]: 49/100
> Physique: 2
> Constitution: 1
> Will: 28
[Skills]: [Mental Serration], [Soul Eyes], [Stasis], [Ethereal Dominion], [Soul Covenant (25% Unsealed)]
[Gear]: [Desolate Might], [Iron Plate], [Verdant Reaper], [Horizon Vanguard], [Key 123], [Obsidian Carapace], [Phantom Lash], [Wintervein]
–
[CURSE OF VOIDHELL]
[THIRD SOUL AWAKENING: 25%]
–––
He sat stunned, with an ajar jaw and unblinking eyes, as he read what was at the bottom, like a statue.
A few seconds later, everything flooded his mind as he mumbled frantically in disbelief, "No. No. No. No. Another unknown thing with the same column as the curse? No. This can't be happening. What's happening? What is the Third Soul?! Why is it awakening?!"
He stood up and paced back and forth, mumbling incoherent words, pausing for a few moments to run his fingers through his hair and rub his glabella.
Draven stopped a minute later, took a deep breath, and exhaled through his mouth.
'I remembered, it was 1%, except my memory is failing me. If it only took one night to get to 25%... I don't like where this is going.'
Shutting his eyes, he continued pondering, 'I don't know where it came from, but I can make a number of guesses: Either that girl did something to me, which I doubt, or it's because my Soul Vitalis is empty. So to stop it, I merely need to increase it.'
His eyes snapped open, but he grimaced at his panel as he realized another problem: no Soul Vitalis meant he was handicapped—no! To be blunt, he was merely a First Order Transient Elite with a few impressive quirks from mentals, like locking onto an object.
"After this, I'm getting myself better gears!" he swore.
He huffed again and went to get his phone from where he hid it. In this place, you couldn't be too careful; his neighbors had gone away for a while, that's why it had been peaceful.
Then he went out and took in the sight of the rising sun.
Just as he stretched his arms, a burning pain made Draven shudder and wince.
He carefully took off his shirt. When he saw his body, Draven cursed at the sight of darkened bruises that marred his body like a chaotic painting.
"That whip of hers penetrated my defense. Thank goodness I avoided many, or I wouldn't have been able to stand after the fight."
He raised his eyes to watch the clouds. Then he rambled, "What a bad day. Hunting handicapped, plus the pain from the bruises, is going to be the biggest discomfort in my life."
Draven lowered his gaze from the clouds. "Discomfort? No! Calling it discomfort is an understatement. This condition is agony! Misery! Torment—"
His speech abruptly broke off, his mouth hanging wide and eyes enlarged, dumbfounded by what he saw.
"What in heaven is going on?" he blurted dazedly.
In the distance, Old Joe, clad in only underwear and socks, was ranting to himself while walking toward him.
Draven watched with wide eyes as Old Joe walked a few meters past him, absorbed in his rant so deeply that he didn't even notice him.
He clamped his mouth shut, not to attract the attention of the angry man; he was attending to a bigger 'discomfort'. He gently backstepped and hid beside his house. But Draven pricked up his ears to listen to his aggressive rant.
And what he heard…
"...Two thieves! Money? You don't have! Women are treacherous! I was happy I finally had a daughter, only to be lured by two hungry snakes, who robbed an innocent man like me. I will report you! Worst, you took that suit." His voice became a squeaky wail. "That suit! That suit! I-I-I rented it. How am I going to pay?"
The rant soon became a fading whisper as their distance grew until he couldn't hear a thing.
Draven waited for him to go even farther, amusing himself with what he heard.
'So, those girls were scammers? I guess it was a calculated scam.'
Peeking out from beside the building, he sauntered out when he couldn't see Joe. He went inside to freshen up. The burning pain resulted in an awful bathroom experience. He kept cursing the girl that battered his body with bruises every time the pain stung.
He changed into a black tracksuit from the training room receptionist and went for breakfast. Spending all his money to buy food, Draven ate while thinking about his plans to boost his Soul Vitalis.
'Where should I hunt? The green mist is a no-no, as I was in danger even with Soul Vitalis. Worse, if I meet a psycho like that girl, I will be a hundred percent dead. With my strength, I should be going for First Order Transient monsters, but a place that contains only First Order Transient monsters doesn't exist, from my information. So, where should I hunt?'
He slouched in the chair, gazing at the ceiling vacantly. His eyes suddenly brightened.
'The Tank…'
His thoughts trailed off as he remembered something that still scared him—the Vineguard.
'Let's first check other options.'
He used his phone to filter through information, and, like he expected, he found none, leaving him with one option.
'Should I search around other places?'
Playing with the spoon between his fingers, Draven organized the pros and cons. He arrived at a conclusion:
'If I go far and wide, my life is left to chance, but if I go for the Tank tarantulas, I know my target and what to watch out for. Besides, I'm an archer. Also, the major thing I'm almost sidelining is that my time is running out; searching far and wide comes with a risk of not finding a target! So… the target is the Tank tarantulas.'
Huffing, Draven quickly finished his food.
'And I'm going to farm Soul Vitalis now. Thank goodness, even First Order Transient monsters still give me Soul Vitalis.'
Draven left for the Plane. Strolling through the Haven, dressed in his brown armor, Draven saw the sight of people preparing.
As he approached the gate, he spotted Jude speaking with a bunch of people. It reminded him of that psycho girl. He quickly made his way to the gate, avoiding Jude for now.
'I better be careful. She might still want me dead. Moreover, she might not be part of Jude's team. That worm wandered from the hill, so others can kill it and get the gear.'
"Draven!" Jude's voice echoed from behind.
Draven's steps faltered, nearly halting instinctively, but he quickly continued, as if it wasn't his name.
Rushing footsteps from behind made him summon his whip—Phantom Lash.
The whip with a silver handle materialized in his grasp, and he spun around.
Jude slowed before walking step by step. Draven's heart pounded like a wild horse, but he maintained his confident pose: an erect posture with raised shoulders and an apathetic expression.
He stopped a hand's length from him, staring directly into his eyes.
"Come and hunt with me," he said.
Draven squinted.
'It sounded like a command. Wait! This is supposed to be perfect for me right now, but… why?'