Fighting For Survival

Seconds turned into minutes, yet James wordlessly stared at the blinking system notification in his mind. 'Am I really awake?' James rubbed his eyes as he stared blankly at his new skill and item. He believed someone was playing a cruel joke on him. A few hours ago, he had considered risking great harm to gain the tomes within the library, only to meet with bitter disappointment. But now, he had suddenly got a new skill, a God Tier ranked skill at that. It had to be a joke, James believed. Especially with his miserable luck.

James slowly slapped his cheeks, each strike fiercer that the last. With each slap, James's features brightened. Giggles escaped out of his mouth while his body trembled non-stop in excitement. 'This is real!' James beamed. Unleashing a thunderous bout of laugh.

'It seems I can only summon one chain with my current level. I definitely won't have enough time to summon the gate of the Abyss realm.' Although his level restricted him to using the Mantra of the Abyss for only five seconds, it was enough time for him to annihilate most of his enemies. Especially with his frightening speed in his Grim Reaper form. The Abyss realm also piqued James's interest. Before the system's notification, he hadn't heard of it, but he had a feeling it was a place destined for him.

James studied the Mantra of the Abyss for a few more minutes, before saying, "System, I would like to learn the skill."

Skill Assimilation Initiated...

Expected Time Until Completion: 50 minutes.

James nodded. He then turned his attention to the second system notification. "Come out." James lightly muttered.

The space before him distorted, unleashing a dull hum and copious baleful aura. Wordlessly, James skillfully manipulated the baleful aura using mana manipulation, trapping himself and the distorted space in a bubble.

'They're definitely more powerful than the damned souls.' James's eyes brightened as he watched the shifting distortion. From the baleful aura emitted from the warped space, he knew all his merged damned souls paled compared to the dark souls.

Just then, a bone-chilling guttural laugh echoed. Before James could determine its origin, he heard a hoarse voice saying, "I'm finally free. Where is this?"

James's eyes quavered slightly, but a savage grin flashed across his face.

Two ethereal, but blackened figures emerged from the crack. They had crimson eyes which pierced deep into the soul, while two flaming but curved horns adorned their heads. They stood over seven feet, with their bestial crawls spanning the length of their arms. Contrasting with their lupine like hind limbs. A bloody mist, emitting a thick and nauseating stench, gathered around the aberrations.

As soon as they emerged from the crack, both turned their attention towards James.

"Keke... it's him." One called out in a shrill voice. It couldn't stop itself from laughing. The other dark soul cackled, exposing a luminous whirlpool within its mouth. Before James could utter a word, both dropped to their knees while subserviently bowing their heads.

"Why have you summoned us, Master?" They called out simultaneously.

'They can talk?' James subconsciously clenched his fists, unable to quell his excitement. The dark souls far exceeded his expectations. From a mere glance, he knew he would suffer immensely if they weren't loyal to him. That they had hell fire flames for horns left him slack jawed, but excited nonetheless. However, the most shocking observation James discovered was that the duo had a personality of their own. They weren't just mindless husks like the damned souls. From their shared connection via the system, James knew that although they had completely loyalty towards him, they also had their own opinions and thoughts.

James calmed his excitement while donning an impassive expression. "What are your names?" James asked authoritatively.

"Master, we humbly request you give us new names. We don���t wish to associate with our previous names," they said.

Do you wish to name Item—Dark Souls?

Warning!

Name these Items will strengthen their individuality. The user cannot control their personalities. However, they will remain loyal to the user.

James frowned slightly. 'If they're loyal to me, then what's the harm in naming them?' James hesitated. No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't see a downside with letting the dark souls have their own personalities. In fact, he preferred it to the mindless damned souls. Since they had absolute loyalty towards him, he didn't mind if they had their own free thoughts. With his mind made up, James said, "I will name you."

At that moment, the items trembled. Strenuously suppressing their joy.

James turned to the dark soul with a whirlpool within its mouth. "From today, your name is Bemu, devourer of light!" James paused, he then turned towards the other dark soul, "And I shall call you Ajati, the malevolent. You may rise!"

Name: Bemu.

Nature: Dark Soul.

Path: Darkness.

Title: Devourer of Light (Conferred).

Class: Demonic Tunist.

Rank: Superb.

Name: Ajati.

Nature: Dark Soul.

Path: Darkness.

Title: The Malevolent (Conferred).

Class: Destroyer.

Rank: Superb.

"Thank you for your benevolence, Master." Ajati and Bemu stood up with enthusiasm. Unbeknownst to James, he had induced subtly changes in the dark souls.

"Return. I'll summon you later." James commanded.

Both dark souls bowed deeply before returning into the distorted space. Within seconds, the surrounding area returned to normal. James stood in place. Grinning from ear to ear. 'Bemu? Ajati?' James chuckled softly. He didn't know why he said those names. But they were the first words that popped into his head, and he couldn't think of anything else.

With the skill assimilation ongoing, James turned his attention to the last system notification. 'It's time to study the system's ranking requirements...' Unlike the previous system ranking requirements, James only had to fulfill one condition before he could upgrade to the next rank. 'Assimilate two grade 1 bloodlines?' James's expression darkened. He wasn't an ignoramus on matters related to bloodlines anymore. From Blay De Tover's memories, and the system's knowledge relating to the bloodline vault, Bloodlines were graded according to their purity. Those with high levels of impurities are ranked as grade 5 bloodlines. While those with little to no impurities are ranked as grade 1 bloodlines. Only the rare and somewhat mythical bloodline superseded a grade 1 bloodline. However, creatures harboring such bloodlines had either gone extinct or lived in places no one would dare reach.

'This is going to be difficult.' James sighed.

The purest blood essence he had obtained so far was Aebalar's, which only ranked as a grade 3 bloodline. The blood essence of the creatures from the Odon Forest were only at grade 5, while the essence of the Ogres and humans he killed were not good enough to have rank.

'I should merge the—' Mid-thought, a series of deafening chimes echoed. James staggered. He turned towards the exit of the hallway. Although faint, he could hear cheers. James hurriedly approached the door. 'What's happening out there?' James mused as he emerged from the hallway. Hundreds of people, soldiers and caretakers alike, walked along the streets, each heading to the same direction.

"They're going to the coliseum... but why do they look so happy?" James muttered. He could still remember the air of despondency clouding the area the previous day.

James eyes narrowed as he observed the crowd. He had no intentions of joining them yet, at least not until he understood what was happening. Just then, James sighted a familiar face. He smiled while waving his hands, "Ibane, how are you doing?"

James's voice drew the attention of several passersby. They turned towards the person he waved towards. At that same moment, their faces paled. A monstrosity with bone protrusions on its back stared at James, disbelief in its crimson eyes.

"How can he causally wave towards a Halfling? What a disgrace." A caretaker, commented offhandedly. Several soldiers and caretakers voiced similar thoughts. After all, Halflings were abominations in Skyhaven, and only someone insane would acquaint with one.

Without sparing the stunned Ibane or James a second glance, they continued their trek to the coliseum.

James chuckled softly as he saw Ibane pointing towards himself. "Why do you look so surprised to see me? Or have you forgotten about me?" He stood in front of the Halfling while causally glancing at his robes. Unlike the plain clothes James wore, Ibane wore a radiant fur coat which complemented his spiked back.

"It seems you have been well. Not bad. Not bad at all." James complimented while nodding.

Ibane remained silent. His questioning gaze probed James, trying to figure out why the human called out to him. Excluding the deep racism for the Halflings; there was no reason for James to act friendly towards him. They tried to kill each other during the selection. Although James hadn't showed any form of hostility since then, he still could not understand why the crafty human would call at him. When he remembered the aftermath of James's battle in the rights ceremony, he subconsciously retreated.

A wry smile graced James's lips as Ibane retreated. If he had other options, he wouldn't have bothered with the Halfling. "What's wrong? Is it that strange for me to call you out?"

Ibane remained silent.

James continued, "It seems I've left a poor impression on you. I won't stand in your way. However, can you tell me what's happening over there?" James pointed towards the coliseum.

Once again, Ibane remained silent.

James sighed. 'I don't think he can talk. How did that psycho communicate with him?' He remembered one of Aebalar's drivel. She animatedly told him about Ibane's great sense of humor. 'It's my fault for the believing something out of that psycho. I'll find someone else to satisfy my curiosity.' James shook his head slightly, before saying, "Since you will not speak, I'll take my leave now." James turned around before walking towards the coliseum.

On his fifth step, he heard a dull voice within his mind, "A fight for survival is about to take place. You should watch it too, Kaleb."

James panicked inwardly. He quickly turned towards Ibane, "Was that you?"

Ibane nodded. James quickly regained his calm. He had scanned Ibane's stats a long time ago, and he didn't have skills related to reading someone's thoughts or speaking directly into their minds. Rather, Ibane used a special method to convey his words directly into the ears. Inducing the feeling that he spoke within the mind.

"What do you mean battle for survival? Who are the participants?" James asked.

"I'm yet to find out. I believe they're soldiers before our set. Apparently, one of them is famous."

James felt weird as he stared at Ibane. The Halfling's mouth didn't move while speaking, yet his voice resounded in his ears. He wondered what kind of amazing ability granted such a skill. Meanwhile, he was disinterested with the news of the combating soldiers. He didn't care if they are famous or not. He believed that, given enough time, everyone within Kynar would be at his mercy. Why would he waste his time watching two random nobodies duke it out? James thought.

"Thank you for the information. I hope you enjoy yourself." James beamed. Saying nothing further, he turned around to leave.

'I should return to the manor. Hopefully, I'll be able to gather some corpse with the...' James paused mid-thought. He stared in the coliseum's direction once more. 'How many people would have died over the years? Thousands? Ten Thousands? All that Death Energy and corpses with no one to claim them. Maybe I should see what's going on there.' A devilish smile flashed across James's lips as he stared at the coliseum.